OAO Kuban Airlines () was an airline based in Krasnodar, Russia. It operated domestic flights within Russia, as well as international charters. Its main base was Krasnodar International Airport. Its name comes from Kuban Province in southern Russia. On 11 December 2012 Kuban Airlines ceased operations due to financial difficulties.

History

thumb|right|A Kuban Airlines [[Boeing 737-300 landing at Vnukovo International Airport, Russia. (2011)]]

Kuban Airlines was founded as a division of Aeroflot in 1932. It became an independent company in 1992, owned by the state (51%) and the airline employees (49%).

Merger with Sky Express

In September 2011, it was announced that Russian low-cost carrier Sky Express was to be merged into Kuban Airlines. On 29 October 2011, the two airlines merged, bringing Airbus A319 and Boeing 737 aircraft into the Kuban Airlines fleet.

Fleet

thumb|right|A Kuban Airlines [[Yakovlev Yak-42|Yakovlev Yak-42D landing at Domodedovo International Airport, Russia. (2003)]]

The Kuban Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft in November 2012:

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Kuban Airlines fleet

|-

!rowspan="2"|Aircraft

!rowspan="2"|In fleet

!rowspan="2"|Orders

!colspan="3"|Passengers

!rowspan="2"|Notes

|-

|-

! <abbr title="Business class">C</abbr>

! <abbr title="Economy class">Y</abbr>

! Total

|-

|Airbus A319-100

|align=center|3

|align=center|0

|align=center|0

|align=center|156

|align=center|156

|Charter

|-

|Boeing 737-300

|align=center|2

|align=center|0

|align=center|12

|align=center|112

|align=center|124

|

|-

|Boeing 737-500

|align=center|2

|align=center|0

|align=center| –

|align=center| –

|align=center| –

|

|-

|Sukhoi Superjet 100

|align=center|—

|align=center|12

|colspan=3, align=center|TBA

|Was planned to enter service in 2012

|-

|}

Previously operated

Prior to November 2012, the airline has also operated:

  • Antonov An-24
  • Tupolev Tu-154M
  • Yakovlev Yak-42 – Retired on 1 November 2012

Accidents and incidents

  • On 26 December 1993, Kuban Airlines Flight 5719, operated by an Antonov An-26b, crashed near Gyumri Shirak International Airport in Armenia during an attempted go-around. The plane had been overloaded, causing it to stall and crash. Of the 36 people on board, only one survived the crash.

See also

  • Babyflot

References

  • Kuban Airlines
  • Kuban Airlines (Archive)