Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise
Pulkovo Airlines was based in Saint Petersburg Russian airline until its takeover by the airline Rossiya. It belonged to the company Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise, which has operated the Pulkovo airport. In October 2006, the Company was divided into two independent companies. Both are named after a suburb of the city of Saint Petersburg, next to the airport is situated.
History
Pulkovo Airlines referred to himself as the oldest airline in Russia. She took on 24 June 1932 as part of the Aeroflot flight operations. Predecessor of today's society was the Leningrad Directorate of the Soviet Aeroflot.
Even after the end of the Soviet Union, the aircraft wore first on the Aeroflot logo, even though in 1992 the Pulkovo Aviation Group was founded and took over all aircraft of the Division. In 1996 the company name was changed in Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise. Only in 1997, the aircraft then received its own color scheme. Many unprofitable routes were discontinued. With new routes, especially Western countries and Israel has approached.
2001 joined the IATA in Pulkovo. To date, there are close links with Aeroflot. In June 2006, Pulkovo graduated from a code-sharing agreement with Aeroflot, on the common operating various European flights from Saint Petersburg, from. The company employs approximately 1,600 employees.
On 27 October 2006, sought since 2003 merger of Pulkovo Airlines was officially completed with the airline Rossiya, the newly formed this airline is called Rossiya. The fleet of Rossiya has previously been managed surgically by Pulkovo. With the entry into force of the winter schedule on October 29, 2006 Pulkovo is continued only as a designation of the airport, during the flight business will operate under the new name Rossiya.
The merger is expected especially from the government, which is to hope for the direct control of the second largest Russian airline ( see also: Rossiya ) have been initiated. Another motivation for the merger is expected to be international pressure on Saint Petersburg and Russia, legally separate the airport operator and the operator of this airport dominant airline.
For attention caused the industry's message that the (state ) St. Petersburg's Foreign Trade Bank WTB has taken over the financing (leasing ) of up to 16 Airbus A320 -200 for the new Pulkovo / Rossiya group. The aircraft will be handed over after the merger, which remains unclear which of the two brands they wear. At the same time it was announced that the WTB has acquired 4.8% stake in Airbus parent company EADS.
It now comes to closer cooperation with non-Russian airlines. In June 2006, code-sharing agreements were signed with the Polish line LOT for the route Kaliningrad Warsaw and with the budget airline Norwegian on the route Saint Petersburg- Oslo.
End of September 2006 appeared to reports, the Pulkovo would come to the "blacklist" of airlines, which is prohibited for safety reasons the approach. But after the alleged safety deficiencies had been eliminated, this step in early October of the same year was withdrawn. According to a statement by EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot his authority wants this airline, however, observe more closely.
Objectives
In 2003, the company flew to 34 destinations in 23 countries (mainly Western Europe ), and to 12 cities within the Commonwealth of Independent States. It carried about 2.4 million passengers (2003), about two -thirds of them on international flights.
Fleet
(July 2006)
- 5 Boeing 737-500
- 7 Ilyushin Il -86
- 11 Tupolev Tu- 134A -3
- 7 Tupolev Tu- 154B -2
- 19 Tupolev Tu- 154M
Accidents and incidents
On 22 August 2006 a Tupolev Tu- 154M ( RA- 85185 with the registration ) of the Pulkovo Airlines on the flight from Anapa to St. Petersburg are 160 passengers and ten crew members were killed near Donetsk in eastern Ukraine in the crash. The reason for this apparently were extremely poor weather conditions.