Pulkovo Airport launches first Hosted Stopover Programme in Russia

Kiwi.com and the St Petersburg airport will begin strategic partnership

Pulkovo is to be the next airport building a Hosted Stopover Program for self-connect and Virtual Interlined passengers, and it will be the first to do so in Russia.

St Petersburg’s international hub also announced it will enter into a strategic partnership with Kiwi.com to ensure passengers connecting in the airport have a hassle-free experience.

The airport said it would develop a “revolutionary product for Russia’s market” through the program.

Hosted Stopovers are a new innovation from Kiwi.com. They are designed to ease and optimize passengers’ Virtually Interlined journeys and to increase both traffic and revenue for airports.

For passengers, it means connections are no different to flights interlined by a carrier or alliance. Their bags are transported through the airport as normal and there is no need for them to exit through security and check in again.

Airports receive assistance from Kiwi.com to minimize connection times and increase transfer passengers traffic by means of stopover stimulation activities. They also gain the opportunity to use Kiwi.com’s white label and widget solutions and access ground transportation providers to enlarge their catchment area.

Passengers using Pulkovo’s Hosted Airport Program will have access to all of Kiwi.com’s services. These include wayfinding and industry-leading customer support, and protection provided by the Kiwi.com Guarantee.

This means that if a connection is missed because of schedule changes, delays or a cancelled flight, Kiwi.com will make sure the passenger arrives at their final destination or offer a refund.

“We are excited to launch the Hosted Stopover Program at Pulkovo, partnering with Kiwi.com, a global leader in online booking services,” said Vladimir Yakushev, Chief Executive Officer of Pulkovo International Airport’s operator Northern Capital Gateway LLC.

“Combining St Petersburg Airport’s excellent transfer infrastructure and its perfect location between Europe and Asia with Kiwi.com’s unique expertise, we strive to develop a revolutionary product for Russia’s market.”

Zdeněk Komenda, Kiwi.com’s Chief Business Development Officer, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Pulkovo Airport to assist in delivering this transfer product, benefiting both passengers and all full-service and low-cost airlines which operate out of this key Russian airport.

“The airport is growing massively and at Kiwi.com, we are matching this growth as we strive to make travel better for both users and providers.”

Passengers from over 150 countries will be able to buy more than 3,650 unique flight combinations through Pulkovo using Kiwi.com’s unique algorithms, machine-learning capabilities and data insights. This covers both full-service and low-cost carriers.

Pulkovo Airport, Russia’s fourth busiest, welcomed over 18.1 million passengers in 2018 — a 12.4 per cent increase in traffic year-on-year.

40 per cent of travelers now opt to self-connect when traveling by creating their own itineraries, stopovers, and transfers.

Kiwi.com’s unique Virtual Interlining algorithm makes that a simple process that doesn’t require hours of painstaking research.

Yakushev continued: “In partnership with Kiwi.com we will be able to significantly enhance transfer service for travelers, providing passengers with personalized connection offers and airlines with new market opportunities via St Petersburg.

To learn more about Kiwi.com’s unique B2B offerings for airlines, please get in touch.