AiRUnion

AiRUnion (Russian Альянс AiRUnion ) was formed in 2004 marketing alliance of five Russian airlines KrasAir, Omskavia, Samara Airlines, Domodedovo Airlines and Sibaviatrans.

It was disbanded after a short period as a united airlines due to financial problems in late September 2008 and should become part of the new airline Rosavia, but this was postponed indefinitely due to the economic environment from the Russian government as a financier and was not implemented until the fall of 2013. In addition, all five of the participating airlines have since ceased flight operations for financial reasons.

History

Founded as an alliance

In 2004, an alliance of five Russian regional airlines was in charge of KrasAir director Boris Mikhailovich Abramovich founded as AirBridge into being to act together on the Russian market. At the Alliance participated the

• KrasAir ( Krasnoyarsk )
• Omskavia ( Omsk )
• Samara Airlines ( Samara )
• Domodedovo Airlines ( Moscow)
• Sibaviatrans ( Krasnoyarsk )

The common marketing name AiRUnion was decided in July 2005 and registered as a trademark. A merger of five companies under the umbrella of AiRUnion was promised. In the following period the aircraft of the companies were repainted in a common design. Later on the website of KrasAir launched the joint online ticket sales. Also through code sharing, frequent flyer program AiRUnion Premium and common support services was cooperating. The companies KrasAir, Domodedovo Airlines and Samara Airlines were among 46-51 % of the Russian state. At all five companies, the twin brothers Alexander and Boris Abramovich had a stake between 40 and 100 %.

Expansion as an airline

As of 2006, the AiRUnion formed and grew in strength. The aim was to expand into the European market. They negotiated with the international Star Alliance flight to the recording as an airline. In January 2007 it was announced that the Hungarian government Malev is to be taken from her. This company is a Hungarian subsidiary of KrasAir and thus the planned society AiRUnion. On 23 February 2007, the purchase agreement for 100 % of Malev- shares for about 800,000 euros was signed and the acquisition of 131 Mil. Euro debt agreed. Malev belongs to since the end of March of the oneworld alliance. It was also reported in February 2007 that the AiRUnion and the Austrian Star Alliance member Austrian Airlines wanted to cooperate. Thus, the hub could be shared at Vienna -Schwechat Airport. Together, the Krasnoyarsk Plug - Vienna and Vienna-Moscow should be operated. Through the acquisition of Austrian Airlines and the end of the AiRUnion these plans are now meaningless.

President Putin confirmed on 2 May 2007, the merger of the companies KrasAir, Omskavia, Samara Airlines, Domodedovo Airlines and Sibaviatrans to AiRUnion Holding. In order for the merger of the former Alliance was formally completed to a common carrier. By the end of October 2007, the companies are to be completely merged under the name AiRUnion. Russia was supposed to hold only 45 % of the shares of the new airline. Boris M. Abramovich should get the majority stake in the new airline., In February 2008, however, it was announced that the Russian government to take over a majority stake in the new airline as part of equity consortium Rostechnologii. The brothers Abramovich should keep the majority in the Hungarian airline Malev. In June 2007 AirUnion also announced to want to cooperate with the German Lufthansa. As a result, in early July 2007, a code-sharing agreement was signed. This was decisive for the Lufthansa Moving from Sheremetyevo airport to Domodedovo Airport.

Crisis and the end of the project

In September 2008, reports the Russian press about financial difficulties at AiRUnion whose major shareholders, the brothers Boris and Alexander Abramovich were. The goal is to be number three of the Russian aviation market, has not been achieved.

The solution was seen in a plan for partial nationalization and merger with seven other airlines, which were also partly alone no longer considered viable: Atlant -Soyuz Airlines, Rossiya, Kavminvodyavia, Vladivostok Avia, Saravia and Orenair. Both Rossiya and Orenair but have evolved by 2013 to significantly larger airlines.

All five AiRUnion Airlines finally put the end of September 2008, a flight operations due to financial problems. Kerosene bills remained unpaid and the company was no longer supplied from the airports with new fuel. AiRUnion was finally disbanded in late 2008 and as receiver for this and the aforementioned small Russian companies, the new airline Rosavia should be established since then, what has already been postponed several times. The future development is uncertain.

Market share

According to an interview with Alexander Abromowitschs the magazine Aero International AiRUnion the 2007 had a market share of about 12 %, as well as the competitor S7 Airlines. 3.3 Mil. Passengers were carried in 2006. The proceeds grew in 2006 by 24%. However, we were unable to reach the desired dominant position in the Russian airline market. A good part of the monumental fleet of the company was during its lifetime not operational, only newer machines served the existing airlines.

The Director General Boris Mikhailovich Abramovich and his brother Alexander were next to your share of the KrasAir to about 40 % and the AiRUnion also to the other AirUnion carriers Domodedovo Airlines ( 49%), Omskavia (70 %), Samara Airlines ( 40%) and Sibaviatrans (100 %) participated. 2006 was founded by them the first Russian low cost airline SkyExpress. They are also 49% shareholder in cargo airline Volga-Dnepr Airlines whose daughter AirBridge Cargo.

Destinations

Hubs of the merged company to Krasnoyarsk, Moscow - Domodedovo and Samara are, should be of whom served in numerous Russian and a few European and intercontinental destinations:

Abakan, Barnaul, Baikit, Belgorod, Blagoveshchensk, Bodaibo, Bratsk, Khabarovsk, Igarka, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, Yekaterinburg, Yuzhno -Sakhalinsk, Kazan, Kemerovo, Komsomolsk-on- Amur, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Motygino, Norilsk, Nizhnevartovsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Novy Urengoy, Omsk, Petropavlovsk -Kamchatsky, Podkamennaja Tunguska, Rostov-on- Don, Samara, Severo- Yenisejsk, Sochi, St. Petersburg, Surgut, Tomsk, Chelyabinsk, Chita, Tura, Turuchansk, Ulan- Ude, Ufa, Vladivostok and Voronezh

Yerevan, Baku, Ganja, Nakhchivan City, Beijing, Tianjin, Almaty, Karaganda, Qostanai, Shymkent, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Khujand, Bangkok, Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent

Frankfurt, Hannover, Cologne / Bonn, Stuttgart, Vienna, Lisbon, Kiev and Simferopol

Fleet

The fleets of the five participating companies consisted largely of worn-out and barely competitive Soviet aircraft.

By 2012 600 million U.S. dollars will be invested to create at least 25 new aircraft and thus to renew the fleet. KrasAir was last already in the process of replacing some of its aircraft by leased machines from Boeing. In addition, the Company Sukhoi Superjet 100 had ordered 15 and again on 15 an option. It should also further copies of the newer Russian pattern Antonov An -148 and Tupolev Tu -204 to be purchased. In addition, the Russian state - society AiRUnion RRJ had founded, which was equipped with $ 20 million in capital. You should be a subsidiary of AiRUnion be to buy more Super Jets.

As of April 2013, the companies of the AiRUnion together accounted for about 120 aircraft:

• 6 Boeing 737-300
• 4 Boeing 757-200
• 4 Boeing 767-200
• 6 Ilyushin Il -86
• 2 Ilyushin Il- 96-300
• 2 Yakovlev Yak -42
• 19 Tupolev Tu- 154M
• 3 Tupolev Tu -204
• 1 Tupolev Tu -214

• 8 Tupolev Tu- 134A
• 3 Tupolev Tu- 154B
• 6 Tupolev Tu- 154M
• 1 Yakovlev Yak -40
• 3 Yakovlev Yak - 42D

• 7 Antonov An-24
• 1 Antonov An-32
• 1 Antonov An-74
• 3 Yakovlev Yak -40
• 4 Tupolev Tu-134
• 1 Tupolev Tu -154