S7 Airlines
| File:S7 Airlines logo.png | |||||||
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| Founded | May 1992 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport Domodedovo International Airport Irkutsk International Airport Chelyabinsk Airport | ||||||
| Alliance | None | ||||||
| Fleet size | 65 (+73 orders) | ||||||
| Destinations | 73 | ||||||
| Parent company | S7 Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Ob, Russia | ||||||
| Key people | Vladislav Filyov (General Director) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.s7.ru/ | ||||||
S7 Airlines is an airline based at Novosibirsk's Tolmachevo Airport (OVB) in Ob, Russia. "S7 Airlines" is a brand of JSC "Siberia Airlines" (in Russian: ОАО "Авиакомпания "Сибирь"). It operates scheduled passenger flights to Russian and CIS destinations, as well as international services to China, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. Its main bases and hubs are Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow and Tolmachevo Airport (OVB), Novosibirsk, with a further hub at Irkutsk International Airport (IKT), Irkutsk.
History
Siberia Airlines was established in May 1992 in Ob.
It is a successor of former Tolmachevo United Avia Squadron (Russian: Толмачевский объединенный авиаотряд), which was a local subsidiary of Aeroflot.
Tolmachevo United Avia Squadron dates back to 12 July 1957, when it accomplished the first flight from Moscow to Novosibirsk. The first international flight was carried in 1991 to Harbin, China. In 1994 the airline joined IATA. Also that year it became an open joint stock company and had started its first international route (as Siberia 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.
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. Also the company created a hub in Irkutsk.
In 2001 the airline also acquired one of the major Moscow-market players - Vnukovo Airlines, based in Vnukovo International Airport. Thus, in 2001 it became the second-largest carrier in Russia.
Since 2002 all Moscow flights are operated from Domodedovo International Airport, which is the biggest hub of the company so far. The company started a close partnership with Armenian airline Armavia and owned 70% of that company until 2005. Siberia Airlines crews operated Armavia A320s on flights from Yerevan to Moscow and Novosibirsk.
As of 2003 it was the second-largest airline in Russia. It ranked second in Russian international flights market and first in the domestic market. The airline carried 3.4 million of passengers in 2003. It employed 4950 staff at January 2005.
In 2004 the airline absorbed Chelyabinsk Airlines[1]
In 2005, Siberia Airlines rolled out its new livery, featuring a marketing strategy focusing on the brand "S7". Both the branding and livery were created by London brand consultancy, Landor Associates.
On May 5, 2006, Siberia Airlines was rebranded as S7 Airlines. The airline also embarked on an advertising campaign using the slogan "Свобода выбирать" (Freedom to Choose).
The airline has also established a new base in Chelyabinsk, flying to seven scheduled destinations within Russia and the former Soviet Union.
The airline might have plans to join Star Alliance by 2008 but it is still not sure[citation needed]. 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. [1]. This may mean that the airline joins SkyTeam instead of Star Alliance.
In December 2006, the airline became the second Russian air carrier to complete the IATA International Safety Audit (IOSA), which is the first global air safety standard. Once it has made changes to its current documents and technology, it hopes to receive its IOSA certificate in early 2007 [2]
It was announced in April 2007 that a new division was set up within the airline, called Globus. This division will concentrate of flying tourist passengers to holiday destinations. Initially, the aircraft for this division will be used from within the mainstream fleet, but during 2010-2014, 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft will be leased with an all economy layout, followed by an option for a further 10 more after this period. [3]
On 29 May, Boeing announced an order for 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners scheduled for delivery in 2014 with an option for 10 additional aircraft.[2]
In June 2007, S7 Airlines admitted the airline is negotiating with British Airways about joining the Oneworld alliance.
Incidents and accidents
- October 4, 2001: A Tupolev Tu-154M jet operating as Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 (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.
- January 12, 2002: A Tupolev Tu-204 carrying 145 passengers and crew slides off an icy runway at Tsentralny Airport in Omsk after both engines fail on final approach. There were no fatalities but the aircraft received substantial damage.
- August 24, 2004: A Tupolev Tu-154B2 jet operating as Siberia Airlines flight 1047 (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.
- July 9, 2006: An Airbus A310 operating as S7 Airlines Flight 778, 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. A total 124 persons on board did not survive.BBC News [3]
- July 9, 2006: An Airbus A310 operating as S7 Airlines Flight 1822, carrying 243 passengers and 8 crew members from Antalya en route to Moscow, performed an emergency landing in Simferopol due to a reported drop in oil levels in one of the engines. No one was injured. [4].
Destinations
Fares/Ticketing
According to the newspaper Kommersant, the airline has announced that it will offer 400,000 tickets to passengers at an 'ultralow' price during the 2006 winter schedule. Prices range from 900 to 1400 Russian roubles. The strategy has been adopted to encourage more people to fly who generally wouldn't, thus increasing the airline's load factors. The tickets have to be purchased up to thirty days before the flight, they have to be bought on the internet, and are only applicable on domestic routes. [4] Unfortunately, the fare policy was not stable even for one month. At the beginning of December, the company has suddenly five times raised its 'ultraflow' prices and declined them on some important routes (e.g. flights to Moscow). However, some reduced prices on the foreign routes were applied.
In line with a 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 is 1 Euro = 1 US Dollar. Fuel surcharges are also published in euros. Its domestic fares are still shown in the local currency[5].
Fleet
The S7 Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft as of May 2008:[6]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A310-200 | 5 | 255 (14/241) | |
| Airbus A310-300 | 2 | 203 (12/191) 205 (12/193) |
One was lost on July 9, 2006 due to accident |
| Airbus A319-100 | 17 | 128 (8/120) | |
| Airbus A320-200 | 2
(28 orders) |
||
| Boeing 737-800 | (10 orders) (10 options) |
189 (189) | Entry into service: 2010 Charter routes |
| Boeing 737-400 | 2 | ||
| Boeing 737-500 | 3 | ||
| Boeing 787-8 | (15 orders) (10 options) |
Entry into service: 2014 | |
| Ilyushin Il-86 | 9 | 316 (20/296) 350 (350) |
Exit from service: 2009 |
| Tupolev Tu-154M | 27 | 154 (8/146) |
The first western aircraft, Airbus A310, were acquired in 2004. In summer 2004 during the Farnborough Air Show the company signed a memorandum of intention to purchase 50 of 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. [7].
In 2005, the airline introduced Boeing 737-500 aircraft. In 2006, it retired its two Tupolev Tu-204-100 aircraft, inherited from its acquisition of Vnukovo Airlines. [citation needed]
The 16 leased Airbus A319-100 aircraft were previously operating for Northwest Airlines, they are in service for S7 since summer 2006. [8]
The airline is in discussions to acquire the new version of the Tupolev Tu-204, the Tupolev Tu-204SM. S7 has agreed a memorandum of understanding with lessor Ilyushin-Finance for 15 of the new aircraft, with five each to be delivered in 2009, 2010 and 2012.[9]
Previously operated
During the 1990s the airline also used Antonov An-24, Antonov An-26 and Tupolev Tu-134 aircraft. [citation needed]
References
- ^ Air Transport World November 2006
- ^ Announcement by Boeing of Dreamliner order 29th May 2007
- ^ '150 dead' in Russian jet crash CNN, 8 July 2006
- ^ Lenta.ru 10 July 2006
- ^ S7 News
- ^ Official site, "Our fleet"
- ^ Flight Global 7 February 2006
- ^ Flight Global 28 March 2006
- ^ Flight International 27 March 2007
