S7 Airlines

S7 Airlines

IATA S7 ICAO SBI Callsign SIBERIAN AIRLINES
Founded	May 1992 (founded as Sibir)
Hubs	Tolmachevo Airport Domodedovo International Airport
Focus cities	Chelyabinsk Airport Irkutsk Airport Khabarovsk Novy Airport Vladivostok International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	S7 Priority
Alliance	Oneworld
Fleet size	35 (+26 orders)
Destinations	87
Headquarters	Ob, Russia
Key people	Vladimir Obyedkov (General Director)
Website	www.s7.ru

OJSC Siberia Airlines (Russian: ОАО «Авиакомпания „Сибирь“» "ОАО Aviakompania Sibir"), operating as S7 Airlines, is an airline headquartered in Ob, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, with offices in Moscow. S7 Airlines has been Russia's fastest-growing airline and recently passed Aeroflot as Russia's largest domestic airline.

S7 has operated scheduled passenger flights to Russian destinations, as well as international services to Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Montenegro, South Korea, Spain, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates. Its main bases and hubs have included Domodedovo International Airport (DME), Moscow and Tolmachevo Airport (OVB), Novosibirsk, with a further hub at Irkutsk Airport (IKT), Irkutsk. After 2004, it became the largest domestic route airline network in Russia.

History

Tupolev Tu-154

Siberia Airlines was established in May 1992, in Ob, Russia.

Tolmachevo United Avia Squadron (Russian: Толмачевский объединенный авиаотряд) dates back to 12 July, 1957 when it accomplished the first flight from Moscow to Novosibirsk. Sibir Airlines was formed around this air squadron. Since 2005 Sibir flies under S7 Airlines brand. The first international flight was in 1991 to Harbin, China.

In 1994, the airline joined IATA. Also in 1994, the company became an open joint stock company and started its first international route (as Siber Airlines) from Novosibirsk to Frankfurt, Germany.

In the first half of the 1990s, Siberia Airlines was a medium-size regional airline, like many others created from the former Aeroflot. It was mainly focused on domestic flights from Novosibirsk. However, by the end of the decade, the airline started aggressive expansion in the Russian domestic market.^{[citation needed]}

Ilyushin Il-86 of S7 Airlines in old 'Siberia Airlines' livery at Domodedovo with two Transaero Boeing 747's in the background.

Siberia Airlines has grown mainly through a series of mergers with smaller regional airlines. In 1999, it opened its Moscow branch in Vnukovo International Airport. The charter flights program from Sheremetyevo International Airport followed in 2000.

In 2001, the airline acquired one of the major Moscow-market players, Vnukovo Airlines, based at Vnukovo International Airport.

Since 2002, all Moscow flights have been operated from Domodedovo International Airport, as the biggest hub of the company. The company started a close partnership with Armenian airline Armavia and owned 70% of that company until 2005. Siber Airlines crews operated Armavia A320s on flights from Yerevan to Moscow and Novosibirsk.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004, the airline absorbed Chelyabinsk Airlines.

In March 2005, Siberia Airlines rolled out its new livery featuring a marketing strategy focusing on the brand name "S7", its two-letter IATA code designator. Both the branding and livery were created by London-based brand consultancy firm Landor Associates. The airline also embarked on an advertising campaign, also with Landor Associates, using the slogan "Свобода выбирать" (Freedom to Choose).

The airline also established a new base in Chelyabinsk, flying to seven scheduled destinations within Russia and the former Soviet Union.^{[citation needed]}

S7 Airlines Tupolev Tu-154.

In the aftermath of the S7 Airlines Flight 778 aircrash at Irkutsk in July 2006, it was reported that the Russian Government's 25.5% stake in the airline may be passed to Aeroflot Russian Airlines, as part of a consolidation programme within the Russian aviation industry. It is claimed that the above crash may speed up this process.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2006, the airline became the second Russian air carrier to complete, and pass, the IATA International Safety Audit (IOSA), which is the first global air safety standard. On 27 September 2007, OAO Siber Airlines /S7 Airlines/ received an official notice of IATA on entry of the Company in the register of operators IOSA.

It was announced in April 2007 that a new division had been set up within the airline, called Globus. This division was to concentrate on flying tourist passengers to holiday destinations. Initially, the aircraft for this division would be used from within the mainstream fleet, but during 2010-2014, 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft were to be leased with an all-economy layout, followed by an option for a further 10 more after this period.

On 29 May 2007, the airline had announced a proposed order for 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners scheduled for delivery in 2014, with an option for 10 additional aircraft. However, the order was officially canceled on 29 January 2009, with S7 stating that it is considering the possibility of taking the aircraft under a leasing scheme.

On 16 December 2008, S7 Airlines sold Globus to East Line Group, the owner of Domodedovo International Airport. All 4 Boeing 737-400 airplanes were sold with Globus, and 4 Boeing 737-800's were returned to S7 Airlines.

S7 Airlines ranked second in the Russian international flights market and first in the domestic market. The airline carried 5.6 million of passengers in 2009, including 3.5 million passengers on flights in Russia.

Airline alliance

It was announced on 26 May 2009, that S7 Airlines would be joining the Oneworld alliance in 2010, sponsored by British Airways. S7 became a member of Oneworld on 15 November 2010, as the first Russian airline to join Oneworld and second to join an alliance, after Aeroflot had entered SkyTeam in 2006.

Destinations

Main article: S7 destinations

S7 Airlines destinations.

  Russia

  S7 Destinations

Codeshare agreements

S7 Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Air Berlin (future Oneworld) Azerbaijan Airlines Belavia British Airways (Oneworld) El Al

Etihad Airways Globus Iberia (Oneworld) Niki (future Oneworld) Orenair

Royal Jordanian (Oneworld) Transaero Airlines Ukraine International Airlines Yakutia Airlines

Frequent flyer partners

American Airlines Air Berlin (future Oneworld) British Airways Cathay Pacific Dragonair

Finnair Iberia Japan Airlines LAN

Malév Mexicana Qantas Royal Jordanian

Fares/Ticketing

In line with an IATA resolution, from December 2006 the airline began to publish its fares for international destinations originating in Russia in Euros, rather than US dollars. This resulted in a fare increase, as the conversion rate used was 1 Euro = 1 US Dollar. Fuel surcharges were also published in euros. Its domestic fares were still to be shown in the local currency.

Fleet

Current fleet

The S7 Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of 16 May 2010):

Two S7 Airlines planes in Domodedovo one Boeing 737-400 in new livery and a Airbus A310 in old livery.

S7 Airlines Airbus A319 (2008)

S7 Airlines Fleet

Aircraft	Total	Orders	Options	Passengers			Notes
				C	Y	Total
Airbus A319-100	19	—	—	8	120	128
Airbus A319LR	1
Airbus A320-200	9	20	—	8	150	158
Boeing 737-800	6	8	10	12	148	160	4 operated for Globus
Boeing 767-300ER	3	1	—	18	222	240
				12	240	252
Total	40	29	10

At March 2011, the average age of the S7 Airlines Boeing and Airbus fleet was 9.5 years.

The first western aircraft, Airbus A310, were acquired in 2004. In summer 2004 during the Farnborough Airshow, the company had signed a memorandum of intention to purchase 50 of the new Sukhoi Russian Regional Jet, with the first plane to be delivered in 2007. However, the airline subsequently dropped its plans to order this aircraft, citing that the aircraft's changed specifications no longer met its requirements.

The 16 leased Airbus A319 aircraft were previously operating for Northwest Airlines. They were in service for S7 since summer 2006.

The airline is in discussions to acquire the new version of the Tupolev Tu-204, the Tupolev Tu-204SM. S7 has agreed to a memorandum of understanding with lessor Ilyushin-Finance, for 15 of the new aircraft, with five to be delivered each in 2009, 2010 and 2012.

As of November 2008, all Soviet-made aircraft had left the fleet.

Historical fleet

At different times, the S7 Airlines fleet has consisted of the following aircraft:

S7 Airlines used 10 Boeing 737-500 between 2005-2008

S7 Airlines Fleet history

Aircraft	Years of Operation	Notes
Airbus A310-200	2004—2010	5 now stored
Airbus A310-300	2004—2011	3 now stored, one written off,
Airbus A319-100	2006—
Airbus A320-200	2008—	One sold to Armavia, 9 still in operation
Boeing 737-400*	2006—2008	To Globus (airline)
Boeing 737-500*	2005—2009	3 sold to Air Ivoire and 7 to Aero Contractors
Boeing 737-800	2008—
Boeing 767-300ER	2008—
Ilyushin Il-86	1992—2008
Tupolev Tu-154	1992—2008	3 to Globus (airline), 2 written off.
Tupolev Tu-204	1992—2005

Incidents and accidents

As Siberia Airlines

• On 4 October 2001, Siberia Airlines Flight 1812, a Tupolev Tu-154M, registration RA-85693, en route from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk crashed into the Black Sea off Sochi, after being accidentally hit by a Ukrainian S-200 surface-to-air missile, killing all 78 people on board.
• On 24 August 2004, Siberia Airlines Flight 1047, a Tupolev Tu-154B2, registration RA-85556, en route from Moscow to Sochi exploded and crashed due to a terrorist bombing near Rostov-on-Don, Russia, killing all 46 people on board.

As S7 Airlines

• On 9 July 2006, S7 Airlines Flight 778, an Airbus A310 carrying 193 passengers and 10 crew members, suffered a landing accident at the Irkutsk International Airport in Siberia. The jet failed to decelerate on landing, overran the runway and crashed into a concrete barricade. 124 people died.

Subsidiaries

Sibir Technics LCC is a subsidiary of S7, located on the grounds of Tolmachevo Airport.

See also

• List of airports in Russia
• Transport in Russia

External links

• Official website (Mobile)
• Official website (Mobile) (Russian)