Avianova, LLC (russian: ООО «Авианова») was a

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 ...

based in

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 ...

. From its hub at Sheremetyevo International Airport, the

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served a number of destinations within Russia, as well as an international destination within

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

History

The company was first registered in 2006. It received Russian regulatory approval in August 2009; operations began on 27 August that year. In the beginning, the company advertised their base fares for RUB 250 (less than US$10) excluding taxes and fees. Andrew Pyne, CEO,Avianova prokatila passazhirov
(in Russian), gazeta.ru, 4 December 2009. voiced the strategy of the new company as "flying those Russians who haven't even seen the inside of an airplane in the past twenty years". , Alfa Group controlled 51% of the stake, while US investment company

Indigo Partners Indigo Partners, LLC is an American private equity firm which has a controlling interest in the American Frontier Airlines and Chilean low-cost JetSmart, as well as holding stakes in Mexican budget airline Volaris and European low-cost carrier ...

held the balance. Avianova carried 1.3 million passengers in 2010, with an occupation of over 80%. By seat numbers flown it had become the second largest carrier at Sheremetyevo airport with 25% of total capacity, operating out of Terminal B. On monthly traffic statistics it ranked as fourth largest domestic carrier in Russia. It opened a second base at Krasnodar in May 2011, with operations to Sochi, Surgut, and St Petersburg, as well as Moscow. By June 2011, it had carried over 2 million passengers since launch at an average seat factor of nearly 80%.

Shareholder coup and bankruptcy

On the morning of 24 June 2011, representatives of the majority shareholder entered the airline's offices and removed the foreign management and some Russian managers and appointed a new leadership, in a move that

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 ...

Andrew Pyne described as an "illegal coup". The airline's new management in turn accused the previous management of "managerial incompetence, flouting Russian law and inflicting severe financial damage on the company" and appointed Konstantin Teterin, former general manager of

Red Wings Airlines Red Wings Airlines is a Russian regional leisure airline based in Moscow Domodedovo Airport. The airline provides both scheduled passenger and cargo services. History Red Wings was founded in 1999 under the name VARZ-400, after the Russian acr ...

, as deputy director general. However, Indigo did not recognize this designation, as it stated the move had "no legal basis". The Russian General Director of the company, Vladimir Gorbunov, himself appointed by Pyne in the Spring of 2008, stated that ″from the very beginning of his co-operation with Avianova, Andrew Pyne demonstrated his unwillingness to work in compliance with Russian laws and emphasised his intention to work solely in accordance with his own rules.″ The continued shareholder impasse over management changes and over funding for the company led to Avianova stopping ticket sales on 3 October as a prelude to stopping operations on .

Destinations

Even though the airline operated from Vnukovo Airport in its beginnings, it moved its hub to Sheremetyevo Airport's Terminal 1 on 28 March 2010. Avianova served the following destinations before ceasing operations, : *Russia **

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 ...

Vityazevo 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 ...

** Arkhangelsk - Talagi Airport ** Astrakhan - Narimanovo Airport **

Gelendzhik Gelendzhik (russian: Геленджи́к) is a resort town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the Gelendzhik Bay of the Black Sea, between Novorossiysk ( to the northwest) and Tuapse ( to the southeast). Greater Gelendzhik sprawls for along t ...

- Gelendzhik Airport **

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 ...

- Khrabrovo Airport **

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 ...

Pashkovsky 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 the ...

** Kurgan -

Kurgan Airport Kurgan Airport (russian: Аэропорт Курган) is an airport in Russia located 6 km northeast of Kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with gr ...

- Sheremetyevo International Airport ''Hub'' **

Nizhnekamsk Nizhnekamsk ( rus, Нижнекамск, p=nʲɪʐnʲɪˈkamsk; tt-Cyrl, Түбән Кама, ''Tübän Qama'') is a city in Tatarstan, Russia, located to the south of the Kama River between the cities of Naberezhnye Chelny and Chistopol. Popul ...

- Begishevo Airport ** Perm - Bolshoye Savino Airport **

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 Eu ...

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 so ...

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 ...

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 ...

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...

- Kurumoch Airport **

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 ...

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 ...

** Stavropol -

Stavropol Shpakovskoye Airport Stavropol Shpakovskoye Airport (sometimes appearing as Mikhaylovskoye) is an airport in Stavropol Krai, Russia located 13 km northeast of Stavropol. It services medium-sized airliners with 14 parking spaces. It is also a small military t ...

Surgut Surgut ( rus, Сургу́т, p=sʊrˈgut; Khanty: Сәрханӆ, ''Sərhanł'') is a city in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the Ob River near its junction with the Irtysh River. It is one of the few cities in Russia to be lar ...

- Surgut Airport **

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 ...

Roschino International 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 ...

** Ufa -

Ufa International Airport Ufa International Airport (russian: Международный аэропорт Уфа, ''Mezhdunarodnyy aeroport Ufa'', ba, Өфө халыҡ-ара аэропорты, ) is the primary airport serving Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, Russi ...

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population: The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (born ...

- Vostochny Airport ** Volgograd - Volgograd International Airport **

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 ...

- Koltsovo Airport *Ukraine **

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, ...

Simferopol Airport Simferopol International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Сімферополь", ''Mizhnarodnyy aeroport "Simferopol’"''; russian: link=, Международный аэропорт "Симферополь", ''Mezhdunar ...

Terminated Before Ceasing Operations

*Russia – Kazan (suspended), Moscow-Vnukovo

Fleet

Avianova operated 6

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...

aircraft. In accordance with the growing low-cost aviation market in Russia Avianova stated a long-term view to operate up to 50 aircraft in five years, but this never happened. All Avianova aircraft were registered in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. As of September 2011, the Avianova fleet consisted of the following aircraft with an average age of 10.5 years:Avianova fleet list at planespotters.net
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References

External links

Avianova (English website)Avianova (Russian website) Avianova CEO Andrew Pyne Interview with anna.aero
{{Airlines of Russia Airlines established in 2009 Airlines disestablished in 2011 Defunct airlines of Russia Defunct European low-cost airlines Companies based in Moscow 2011 disestablishments in Russia Russian companies established in 2009