CJSC Sky Express (russian: ЗАО «Небесный Экспресс»), simply known as Sky Express and in Russian as ''Скай Экспресс'', was a Russian

low-cost airline A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

. Its main base was

Vnukovo International Airport Vnukovo, formally Vnukovo Andrei Tupolev International Airport (named after Andrei Tupolev) ( rus, links=no, Внуково, p=ˈvnukəvə) , is a dual-runway international airport located in Vnukovo District, southwest of the centre of Moscow, ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Sky Express was the first airline to focus on being a low-cost domestic airline in Russia. It operated from January 2007 until October 2011.

History

The airline was established in March 2006 by a consortium of investors which included

KrasAir KrasAir or Krasnoyarsk Airlines (russian: Красноярские авиалинии) was a Russian airline with its head office on the grounds of Krasnoyarsk Yemelyanovo Airport in Krasnoyarsk. It operated scheduled regional and international pa ...

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Boris Abramovich,

EBRD The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially foc ...

, Altima Partners and others, becoming Russia's first low-cost airline. The first flight took off on 29 January 2007 from

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

Merger with Kuban Airlines

Only 20 days after the only other Russian low-cost airline, Avianova, ceased its operations, Sky Express also decided to stop all flights from 29 October 2011. Its fleet and brand name was transferred to Kuban Airlines.

Destinations

Boeing 737-529 VP-BHA SkyExpress(Russia)

In March 2011, Sky Express served the following destinations:

Regular flights

Anapa Anapa (russian: Ана́па, ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. Population: History The area around Anapa was settled in antiquity. It was originally a major seaport (Sin ...

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Anapa Airport Anapa Airport (russian: аэропорт Анапа) , also known as Vityazevo Airport (russian: аэропорт Витязево) is an international airport located near Vityazevo village in Anapa, Russia. It serves the resort town of Anapa ...

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...

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Chelyabinsk Balandino Airport Chelyabinsk Airport is an airport in Russia located 18 km north of Chelyabinsk. It services large airliners and can park up to 51 aircraft. It also serves as a secondary hub for Ural Airlines and Yamal Airlines. History Passenger flight ...

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

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Khrabrovo Airport Khrabrovo Airport (russian: Аэропорт Храброво) , also appearing in historical documents as Powunden Airfield,AIRFIELD ACTIVITY IN THE USSR AND SATELLITES (BASED ON(Sanitized)PHOTOGRAPHY), October 1957, CREST: CIA-RDP78T04753A0003 ...

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern ...

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Krasnodar International Airport Krasnodar International Airport (russian: Международный аэропорт Краснодар), also known as Pashkovsky Airport (russian: Аэропорт Пашковский), ( IATA: KRR, ICAO: URKK) is the main airport serving th ...

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Vnukovo Airport Vnukovo, formally Vnukovo Andrei Tupolev International Airport (named after Andrei Tupolev) ( rus, links=no, Внуково, p=ˈvnukəvə) , is a dual-runway international airport located in Vnukovo District, southwest of the centre of Moscow, ...

, base **

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

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Murmansk Airport Emperor Nicholas II Murmansk Airport (russian: Аэропо́рт Му́рманска им. Николая II or ; ) is an international airport serving the city Murmansk in Russia. It is located near the town of Murmashi in Murmansk's southern ...

Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...

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Orenburg Tsentralny Airport : ''Tsentraly may also refer to airports in Spilve Airport, Riga, Khodynka Aerodrome, Moscow, Omsk Tsentralny Airport, Omsk, or Saratov Tsentralny Airport, Saratov.'' Orenburg Airport (russian: Аэропорт Оренбург) is a civil air ...

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...

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Bolshoye Savino Airport Perm International Airport (russian: Международный аэропорт Пермь) is an international airport located at Bolshoye Savino, southwest of the city of Perm, Russia. It is the only airport in Perm Krai with scheduled comme ...

Rostov on Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East ...

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Rostov-on-Don Airport Rostov-on-Don Airport (russian: Аэропорт Ростов-на-Дону) ''Aeroport Rostov-na-Donu'' was an international airport located east of the city of Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia. It was one of the largest airports in the ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

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Pulkovo Airport Pulkovo ( rus, links=no, Пулково, p=ˈpulkəvə) is an international airport serving St. Petersburg, Russia. It consists of one terminal which is located south of the city centre. The airport serves as a airline hub, hub for Rossiya Ai ...

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Adler-Sochi International Airport Sochi International Airport (russian: Международный Аэропорт Сочи; ) is an airport located in Adler District of the resort city of Sochi, on the coast of the Black Sea in the federal subject of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. So ...

Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura River. Fueled by the Russian oil and gas indu ...

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Roschino Airport Roshchino International Airport is an airport in Tyumen Oblast, Russia located 13 km west of the city of Tyumen. History The need for a new airport in the region was growing as oil industry was developing fast. There was a need for airp ...

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

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Koltsovo Airport Koltsovo International Airport (russian: Аэропорт Кольцово) is the international airport serving Yekaterinburg, Russia, located 16 km (10 mi) southeast of the city. Being the largest airport in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Kolts ...

Charter flights

Additionally, Sky Express operated charter flights on a seasonal basis to the following destinations during the summer of 2009 and 2010: *

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

(winter 2009–2010) **

Kuusamo Kuusamo ( sme, Guossán; smn, Kuáccám) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . T ...

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Kuusamo Airport Kuusamo Airport is an airport in Kuusamo, Finland. It is located north-east from Kuusamo town centre. Airlines and destinations Statistics See also *List of the largest airports in the Nordic countries References External links Fi ...

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Per� ...

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Rovaniemi Airport Rovaniemi Airport ( fi, Rovaniemen lentoasema) is the third busiest airport in Finland, located in Rovaniemi, Finland, about north of Rovaniemi city centre. The Arctic Circle crosses the runway closer to its northern end. History The airpor ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...

– Nikos Kazantzàkis International Airport **

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

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Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport Corfu International Airport "Ioannis Kapodistrias" ( el, Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Κέρκυρας "Ιωάννης Καποδίστριας") or Ioannis Kapodistrias (Capodistrias) International Airport is a government-owned air ...

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

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Diagoras International Airport Rhodes International Airport "Diagoras" (Greek: Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Ρόδου "Διαγόρας"), or Diagoras International Airport , is located on the West side of the island of Rhodes in Greece. The facility is located ju ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

** Sármellék –

Sármellék International Airport Sármellék is a village in Zala County, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeas ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

Tivat Tivat (, ) is a coastal town in southwest Montenegro, located in the Bay of Kotor. , its population was 9,367. Tivat is the centre of Tivat Municipality, which is the smallest municipality by area in Montenegro. Name In Serbian and Montenegrin l ...

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Tivat Airport Tivat Airport ( cnr, Аеродром Тиват, Aerodrom Tivat) is an international airport serving the Montenegrin coastal town of Tivat and the surrounding region. The airport is situated south of the centre of Tivat, with the runway alig ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

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Ibiza Airport Ibiza Airport ( ca, Aeroport d'Eivissa, es, Aeropuerto de Ibiza) is the international airport serving the Balearic Islands of Ibiza and Formentera in Spain located southwest of Ibiza Town. In 2020, the airport handled 2.1 million passeng ...

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...

– St. Paul the Apostle Airport *

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Östersund Östersund (; sma, Staare) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön, ...

– Åre/Östersund (winter 2009–2010) *

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

– Atatürk International Airport

Fleet

The Sky Express fleet consisted of the following aircraft in November 2011:

Incidents

*On 24 October 2008, the crew of Sky Express flight XW230 from

with 132 passengers, reported an attempted hijacking by a drunk passenger, and threatened to explode a bomb demanding the airplane to divert to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The crew raised a hijack alert almost immediately after liftoff. Emergency services and police were awaiting the plane in

, and the passenger was arrested. *On 2 April 2009, a Boeing 737 of Sky Express made an emergency landing at

shortly after takeoff when abnormal vibrations from the jet's left engine were detected by the crew. None of the 69 people on board were hurt.Boeing 737 lands safely after emergency landing in Moscow (CNN)
/ref>

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Defunct airlines of Russia Defunct European low-cost airlines Companies based in Moscow Airlines established in 2006 Airlines disestablished in 2011 2006 establishments in Russia