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Belavia

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Belavia Belarusian Airlines
Белавія / Белавиа
IATA ICAO Call sign
B2 BRU BELARUS AVIA
Founded5 March 1996
HubsMinsk National Airport
Frequent-flyer programBelavia Leader
Fleet size32
Destinations40
Parent companyGovernment of Belarus
HeadquartersMinsk, Belarus
Key peopleAnatoliy Nikolaevich Gusarov, Director-general
Websitebelavia.by

Belavia Belarusian Airlines, legally Republic Unitary Enterprise "National Aircompany Belavia" (Belarusian: Рэспубліканскае унітарнае прадпрыемства «Нацыянальная авіякампанія «Белавія»; ‹See Tfd›Russian: Республиканское унитарное предприятие «Национальная авиакомпания «Белавиа»), is the national airline company of Belarus, headquartered in Minsk.[1] The state-owned company has 1,017 employees[2] and is the Belarusian flag carrier. Belavia serves a network of routes between European cities and the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as some Middle East destinations from its base at Minsk National Airport.[2]

History

Early years

On 7 November 1933, the first Belarusian air terminal opened in Minsk. In the next spring 3 Po-2 aircraft landed in Minsk. They became the first aircraft of the Belarusian air fleet. In 1936 the first regular air route between Minsk and Moscow was established. In the summer of 1940 the Belarusian civil aviation group was officially founded.

In 1964, the Tupolev Tu-124 aircraft received Belarusian registration. In 1973, the then new Tupolev Tu-134A began operating in Belarus. In 1983 Belarusian aviation started flying the new Tupolev Tu-154 planes.

The airline was officially founded on 5 March 1996 in accordance with a resolution of the Belarusian Government "About the restructuring of air transport of the Republic Belarus", when the local Aeroflot division was nationalised and renamed. Between then and 1998 Belavia opened regular routes to Beijing, Istanbul, Larnaca, London, Prague, and Rome. In 1998, Belavia merged with MinskAvia, acquiring several Antonov An-24, Antonov An-26 and Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft in addition to existing fleet of Tupolev Tu-134 and Tupolev Tu-154 airplanes.

Development since the 2000s

Belavia head office

On 18 May 2001, Belavia commenced a Minsk-Paris scheduled service with Tu154s and Tu134s.

In 2003 Belavia started publishing an in-flight magazine Horizons in English, Russian and Belarusian. On 16 October 2003, Belavia signed a leasing agreement for its first Boeing 737-500 aircraft. In 2004, Belavia further extended operations and acquired one more Boeing 737. On 26 June 2004 Belavia opened a new route to Hanover, Germany. 2011 saw the introduction of a new route between Minsk and Helsinki, Finland.

Between 2003 and 2009, the airline has seen its passenger numbers double and in 2009 handled just under 700,000 customers.[3]

Three leased Bombardier CRJ 100 aircraft were introduced on regional services from Minsk. The first one was delivered in February 2007, with the other two later in 2007. They directly replaced the aging Antonov An-24 and Tupolev Tu-134 aircraft.[4] It was looking to lease two Bombardier CRJ-700s in 2010.[5] Belavia had also planned to retire its remaining Tupolev Tu-154Ms by 2011 following the retirement of its last Tupolev Tu-134 in summer 2009 which was replaced by an ex-FlyLAL Boeing 737-500. On 27 June 2014 an order was announced for three Boeing 737-800 aircraft to be acquired directly by Belavia.

Belavia is considering adding longhaul aircraft to its fleet to introduce new routes to China and North America. The government is reportedly also considering merging regional carrier Gomelavia and cargo operator TransAVIAexport Airlines into Belavia.

By the end of May 2015, Belavia retired their Tupolev Tu-154s from scheduled services. The airline was the last one worldwide to operate Tu-154s on public scheduled routes.[6]

Destinations

Main article: Belavia destinations

Belavia flies to Asia, Europe and Africa from its base at Minsk National Airport. In addition to scheduled destinations listed here, Belavia operates charter flights to leisure destinations and VIP charters.

Codeshare agreements

Belavia had codeshare agreements with the following airlines in June 2013:[7]

Fleet

Current fleet

Belavia Boeing 737-300
Belavia Tupolev Tu-154M

As of May 2015, the Belavia fleet consists of the following aircraft:[9]

Belavia Fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Boeing 737-300 9 — — 148 148
Boeing 737-500 3 — 8 112 120
2 8 115 123
1 var. var. 138
Boeing 737-800 2 3[10] — 189 189
Boeing BBJ2 1 — VIP operated for the Government of Belarus
Boeing 767-300ER 1 —
Bombardier Challenger 850 1 —
Bombardier CRJ200 4 — — 50 50
Embraer 175 2 — 12 64 76[11]
Embraer 195 2 — 11 96 107[12]
Tupolev Tu-154M 3 — 131-164 to be replaced by Boeing 737-800s
1 VIP operated for the Government of Belarus
Total 32 3

Historic fleet

A now retired Belavia Tupolev Tu-134 in 2008
Belavia retired fleet[13]
Aircraft Notes
Antonov An-10
Antonov An-24 Acquired in 1998 from MinskAvia
Antonov An-26 Acquired in 1998 from MinskAvia
Ilyushin Il-86 EW-86062,[14] ex СССР-86062, then RA-86062 to Atlant-Soyuz Airlines;[15] Was used in 1994—1996 on charter routes to US and China[16]
Tupolev Tu-124
Tupolev Tu-134A
Tupolev Tu-154B One used as Training Mock-up
Tupolev Tu-154B1 Scrapped
Tupolev Tu-154B2 6 scrapped, 9 stored at MSQ; One used as Training Mock-up[17]
Yakovlev Yak-40 Acquired in 1998 from MinskAvia

Incidents and accidents

  • On 6 January 2003, a Yakovlev Yak-40 suffered a shattered windshield during flight, en route to Prague. Two Czech Air Force fighters accompanied the plane to a safe landing in Ruzyně International Airport.[18]
  • On 14 February 2008, Belavia Flight 1834, a Bombardier CRJ-100ER en route from Yerevan, Armenia, to Minsk hit its left wing on the runway during takeoff from Zvartnots International Airport, subsequently crashing on the ground, flipping over and coming to a stop inverted near the runway. All 18 passengers and 3 crew members managed to escape the aircraft before it erupted into flames, partly due to the timely response of the fire and rescue crew at the airport. The main cause of the crash was icing contamination leading to a stall of the left wing.[19]

References

  1. ^ "Belavia website: Contacts". En.belavia.by. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 27 March 2007. pp. 84–85.
  3. ^ "Belavia now serving 32 destinations from Minsk; Stockholm and Tehran latest additions to growing network". anna.aero Airline Route News & Analysis.
  4. ^ Airliner World, February 2007
  5. ^ http://www.belta.by/en/news/econom?id=474506
  6. ^ http://www.aerotelegraph.com/der-letzte-flug-der-tupolew-tu-154
  7. ^ "Partner Airlines". En.belavia.by. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Код-шеринговое соглашение между авиакомпаниями "Белавиа" и "Северсталь" вступит в силу 10 июля". BELTA. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  9. ^ ch-aviation.com - Belavia retrieved 4 June 2015
  10. ^ boeing.com - Orders and deliveries retrieved 4 June 2015
  11. ^ "Aviaport news for 07 december 2011" (in Russian). Aviaport.ru. 07.12.2011. Retrieved 2013-02-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ http://en.belavia.by/company/air_fleet/
  13. ^ "БЕЛАВИА - Национальная авиакомпания Республики Беларусь - История компании". Belavia.by. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  14. ^ Gerard Helmer (9 September 1994). "Photos: Ilyushin Il-86 Aircraft Pictures". Airliners.net. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  15. ^ "* п░п╜п═п·п╓п⌡п·п╒". Abaza.ilisso.ru. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  16. ^ http://www.forumavia.ru/forum/3/9/469344622858777392371198183939_1.shtml
  17. ^ "Штурм самолета, нейтрализация "террористов" и освобождение "заложников" | Фоторепортаж | Новости Беларуси | Последние новости | Онлайн новости | Мировые новости | БелТА". Belta.by. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  18. ^ Pravda Canopy of Belarusian Yak-40 burst in air. Published 6 January 2003.
  19. ^ Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) (4 June 2009). "Final Report of Belavia Flight 1834" (PDF). Retrieved 31 August 2009.

Media related to Belavia at Wikimedia Commons

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