JSC Vladivostok Air (also Vladivostok Avia; ) was an independent airline with its head office at the airport in Artyom, Primorski Krai, Russia. In 2011, it was reacquired by Aeroflot.
Description
As the largest carrier in the Russian Far East and Siberia, Vladivostok Air operated scheduled domestic flights within Russia and international flights to Africa, Asia, and Europe, as well as charter flights and a well established helicopter service. The main hub of operations was Vladivostok International Airport, with secondary hubs at Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport and Khabarovsk Novy International Airport and a focus city in Ekaterinburg Koltsovo Airport.
Prior to late September 2008, only a few flights between the cities of Vladivostok and Khabarovsk were available on Vladivostok Air, but when the Russian government decided to close Dalavia, due to high debt levels, Vladivostok Air soon announced the start of seven additional domestic routes and four new international routes from Khabarovsk.
History
Beginnings
The 1930s saw active construction of airports in the Soviet republics throughout the USSR. The Primorye region gained its first airport in 1931. Construction also began on two airfields; a hydro-airport (seaplane port) in Vladivostok's Second River region and another named Ozernye Klyuchi (Lake Springs/Озерные Ключи), (which is now part of the current Vladivostok International Airport) near Artyom.
On 27 August 1932, a hydroplane (seaplane) destined to become the predecessor of Vladivostok Air completed its first flight and on 2 September, the hydroplane delivered four passengers from Khabarovsk to the Second River Airport marking. This is considered to be the official beginning of operations for Vladivostok Air, with regular flights from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok ever since.
Jet era and expansion
thumb|right|a Yak-40 of Vladivostok Air
By 1958, the beginnings of the Primorye region's passenger-jet era started with the introduction of the Tupolev Tu-104 airliner, and the Tupolev Tu-114D which completed the first trial, scheduled, non-stop flight from Moscow to Vladivostok (on Aeroflot) in May 1958.
thumb|right|Tu-204-300 of Vladivostok Air landing in [[Moscow-Vnukovo]]
In 2005, Vladivostok Air was the first airline in the world to operate the new Tupolev Tu-204-300 aircraft, a fleet of six was purchased.
When Vladivostok Air celebrated its 15th anniversary as an open joint stock company on 20 January 2009, it had transformed from a regional carrier into the largest company in the Russian Far East and East Siberia.
thumb|right|A330-300 of Vladivostok Air
On 28 April 2009, Vladivostok Air received the Wings of Russia 2008 award in the category of "Airline of the Year — Passengers Choice". Vladivostok Air also announced its earnings on 15 July, showing that, despite the recession, passenger traffic had increased by an incredible 36.6%, while passenger capacity was 28.8% higher in the first six months of 2009 than in the first six months of 2008, with the load factor increasing by 9.5%. Vladivostok Air's income was an astounding 38.1% higher for the same period of time in 2009 than in 2008, attributed to fleet network optimization, transition to more fuel efficient aircraft, and to the takeover of Dalavia's Khabarovsk hub.
Vladivostok Air received an additional A320 aircraft on 12 August 2010, bringing the total amount in its fleet to seven. On 18 August, an interline agreement was signed with United Airlines. On 19–20 August, Vladivostok Air successfully passed its second IOSA audit, further maintaining its IATA membership.
Aeroflot acquired a majority stake in Vladivostok Air in November 2011, intending to convert Vladivostok Air into a Far Eastern regional airline and to eliminate its long-haul flights.
Vladivostok Air ended operations on 14 December 2013; along with SAT Airlines, it became the new airline Aurora. The airline's AOC was revoked by Rosaviatsia in .
Aeroflot
Before the 2011 acquisition, Vladivostok Airlines was a non-alliance affiliate of Aeroflot, amplifying Aeroflot's network from Moscow-Sheremetyevo and Vladivostok.
Codeshare agreements
Vladivostok Airlines had one codeshare and multiple interline agreements with the following airlines in August 2010. Airlines marked with a * indicate interline agreements:
{|
|- valign="top"
|
- Aeroflot* (SkyTeam) as an affiliate airline
- Air China* (Star Alliance)
- Asiana Airlines* (Star Alliance)
|
- Korean Air* (SkyTeam)
- Thai Airways International* (Star Alliance)
- Vietnam Airlines* (SkyTeam)
|}
Fleet
thumb|right|Vladivostok Air [[Airbus A320-200 at Yelizovo Airport in 2011]]
The Vladivostok Air fleet consisted of the following aircraft:
{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse:collapse"
|+ Vladivostok Air Fleet
|-
! rowspan="2"|Aircraft
! rowspan="2"|Total
! rowspan="2"|Orders
! colspan="3"|Passengers
! rowspan="2"|Notes
|-
!<abbr title=Business>J</abbr>
!<abbr title=Economy>Y</abbr>
!Total
|-
| Airbus A320-200
| 6
| —
| 12
| 138
| 150
|
|-
| Antonov An-148
| 4
| —
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|TBA
| Replacement of Yak-40.
|-
| rowspan="4" | Mil Mi-8
| rowspan="4" |11
| rowspan="4" |—
| 16
| —
| 16
| rowspan="4" |
|-
| rowspan="3" |—
|21
|21
|-
| 28
| 28
|-
|32
|32
|-
| Yakovlev Yak-40
| 9
| —
| —
| 32
| 32
| Replaced by Antonov An-148's.
|-
!Total
!26
!—
!colspan=4|
|}
The airline took delivery of its first A320 in November 2006 under a lease agreement with the ILFC. Since the arrival of the first A320, six more have arrived, with the latest delivered in August 2010.
On 6 January 2009, ILFC announced the airline's lease of three used Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The first aircraft was delivered in May 2009, after coming off lease from Aer Lingus. The lease term was for 7 years. The aircraft entered service on 9 June 2009, flying between Vladivostok and Moscow. The A330 seated 327 people and was mainly used to fly between Vladivostok/Khabarovsk and Moscow. The second A330 was delivered in October 2009, while the third arrived in March 2010.
With an influx of more modern aircraft, like the A320 and Tu-204, Vladivostok Air shifted all remaining Tu-154 aircraft into its reserve and charter fleet.
During MAKS Airshow 2009, Vladivostok Air signed a precontractual agreement to buy four Antonov An-148, with options for two more. These regional jets' capacity was 68–85 passengers and they replaced the four aging Yak-40 aircraft. The aircraft were expected to be delivered between 2012 and 2014.
The average age of Vladivostok Air's A320s was 13.4 years, while the A330s' was 15.4 years as of May 2010.
Formerly operated
- Tupolev-154M
- Tupolev Tu-204-300
Incidents and accidents
In July 2001, Vladivostok Air Flight 352, a Tupolev Tu-154 belonging to Vladivostok Air crashed while attempting to land in Irkutsk, Russia, killing all 145 people aboard. A Russian official said that 12 Chinese died on the flight.
References
External links
- Official website
- Official website
- Mobile site