Rossiya Airlines

Rossiya Airlines[2] (Russian: АО Авиакомпания „Россия“, tr. AO Aviakompaniya „Rossiya“), sometimes branded as Rossiya—Russian Airlines (Russian: Россия — Российские авиалинии, tr. Rossiya — Rossyskiye avialinii), is the Russian airline, a part of Aeroflot Group and is currently one of the largest air carriers in Russia. Historically, the city of registration is Saint Petersburg. The company is based at Pulkovo International Airport (Saint Petersburg), operating more than 50% of the airport’s air traffic, and at Sheremetyevo International Airport (Moscow).

Not to be confused with ru:Специальный_лётный_отряд_«Россия».
Rossiya Airlines
АО Авиакомпания „Россия“  (Russian)
IATA ICAO Callsign
FV SDM ROSSIYA
Founded7 May 1932
as Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise
Commenced operations3 April 1992
as Rossiya Airlines
Hubs
Frequent-flyer programAeroflot Bonus
Fleet size54
Destinations53
Parent companyAeroflot
HeadquartersSaint Petersburg, Russia
Key people Sergey Aleksandrovsky CEO[1]
Employees7,200 (as of 2020)
Websiterossiya-airlines.com

History

Merger with Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise
Main article: Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise
A now-retired Rossiya Tu-134A-3 in the old livery at Pulkovo Airport

The airline Rossiya was established in 1992 and was wholly owned by the Russian government. In the early 2000s the Russian government decided to merge Rossiya Airlines with Pulkovo Airlines. The merger process began in December 2004.[3] In November 2006 it was announced that the merger had been completed and Rossiya Airlines was registered in Saint Petersburg on 9 October 2006 and has a branch in Moscow and 54 offices in Russia and abroad.[4]

Aeroflot Group
The current head office of Rossiya Airlines

In February 2010, the Russian government announced that all state-owned regional airlines managed by holding company Rostec would be consolidated into flag carrier Aeroflot to increase financial viability.[5]

On November 16, 2011, 75% minus 1 share of Rossiya Airlines JSC was transferred to Aeroflot. In December, 25% plus 1 share were donated to the Government of Saint Petersburg. In accordance with the decree of the city government of December 23, 2011, the main purpose of the transfer is to ensure the implementation of the powers of the Executive bodies of Saint Petersburg to organize the development of the city's transport complex.

Rossiya Airlines' Airbus A320 wearing old livery at Pulkovo International Airport

In December 2011, a decree was signed by the Government of Saint Petersburg on accepting a gift of 25 % of the airline's shares from Rostec. 229,726 ordinary registered non-documentary shares were transferred to the city. The nominal value of one security is 1 thousand rubles. In total, Saint Petersburg has now become the owner of a blocking stake — 25 % plus one voting share.[6]

In 2014, the commercial management of Rossiya Airlines JSC was transferred to the parent company Aeroflot. Since the spring-summer schedule, flights of Rossiya Airlines have been operated under a single code for the Aeroflot Group of companies. Rossiya Airlines became a participant in the Aeroflot Bonus frequent-flyer programme.[7]

Merger with Donavia and Orenair

In December 2015 Aeroflot Group announced the unification of its regional airline affiliates Rossiya, Donavia (based at Rostov-on-Don Airport[8]) and Orenair (with hubs at Orenburg Tsentralny Airport and Moscow's Domodedovo International Airport[9]) under the name Rossiya (the name of the largest of the three). The consolidation excluded Aurora, a small airline headquartered in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.[10] Rossiya, Donavia and Orenair served 48 domestic and 42 international destinations; the new Rossiya will add some destinations served by Transaero Airlines prior to its collapse in October.[11] As of end of February 2016 the merger of the three airlines was completed and joined flights of three airlines started on 27 March of the same year.[12] On March 27, 2016, Rossiya Airlines Donavia and Orenair, which are other subsidiaries of Aeroflot, were integrated under the brand of Rossiya.[12]

Airbus A319 in brand new livery of Rossiya Airlines at Pulkovo International Airport

Rebranding

Simultaneously with the presentation of the updated company, the air carrier started the process of rebranding. A new airline livery has been developed and implemented, as well as the tradition of naming Russian cities to aircraft – the first of them are Saint Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd. The name and coat of arms of the city are placed on the forward part of the fuselage under the cockpit. The rebranding project was carried out by the Otvetdesign Agency. The main task in developing the new corporate identity of Rossiya Airlines was to create a bright, recognizable, memorable, filled with semantic communication visual image of the airline. The modernized corporate identity is intended to emphasize the modern scale of the company. When launching the rebranding, great importance was given to the continuity of the previous logo and at the same time to give it new modern features. The brand name of the logo is made in the form of an inversion trace from the aircraft. Its writing-stroke emphasizes the dynamic nature of the new brand. The given image is also developed in the system of graphic elements of corporate identity, starting from aircraft liveries and ending with business documentation.

An element that looks like a blade is the basis of the corporate pattern of the aircraft livery. Its plastic and shape compliment with the company's logo. The element consists of modules that graphically repeat the image of the turbine. The pattern changes its density from the nose of the aircraft to its tail - it becomes more saturated, as if following the flow of air. This technique helps to convey the feeling of flight, movement, even when the plane is on the ground. The name of the airline is printed on the lower part of the fuselage in corporate font.[13]

In April 2016, the airline introduced the first Boeing 747-400 in a new livery, named after Saint Petersburg.[14]

Corporate information

Production indicators

Rossiya Airlines’ production indicators:

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Passengers transported, mln 3,2 3,5 2,9 3,1 3,5 4,2 4,6 5,2 4,6 8,1 11,1 11,1 11,6
Passenger turnover, bln pass-km No data 7,730 6,091 6,242 7,191 8,761 9,186 10,147 8,695 18,719 28,119 29,6 33,7
Load factor, % No data No data No data 75,3 75,3 77,5 76,4 75,7 81,7 81,7 84,4 86,6 85,3

Route network
Main article: List of Rossiya destinations

The total route network of Rossiya Airlines includes 53 destinations in the summer of 2020, including socially significant and highly demanded destinations to cities of the Far East and South of the country.

Fleet
Rossiya Airlines Airbus A319-100
Rossiya Airlines Boeing 777-300

As of August 2020, Rossiya operates the following aircraft:[15]

Rossiya Airlines fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
F C Y Total
Airbus A319-100 20 — — 8 120 128
Airbus A320-200 6 — — 12 156 168
Boeing 737-800 9 — — — 189 189
Boeing 747-400 9 — — 12 510 522
12 525 537
Boeing 777-300 5 — 4 14 355 373
Boeing 777-300ER 5 — — 21 436 457
Total 54 —

CEO

In the period from 1992 to 2020, the following people were appointed to the post of the CEO of Rossiya Airlines:

  • Sergey Vladimirovich Alexandrovsky (from September 2018 - now)[16]
  • Dmitry Petrovich Saprykin (November 2015-September 2018)[17]
  • Vasily Nikolaevich Meshkov (January 2013-November 2015)[18]
  • Sergey Gennadievich Belov (April 2010-January 2013)[19]
  • Roman Viktorovich Pakhomov (July 2009-April 2010)[20]
  • Sergey Yurievich Mikhalchenko (October 2006-July 2009)
  • Gennady Andreevich Boldyrev (December 2005 — October 2006)
  • Alexander Nikolayevich Golovin (February 2004-December 2005)
  • Boris Grigoryevich Demchenko (July 1992-January 2004)

Partnership with FC Zenit
Pre-game instructions from flight attendants of Rossiya Airlines before the game at Gazprom Arena. 14.07.2019

On July 7, 2014, Rossiya Airlines became the official carrier of Zenit Saint Petersburg football club. The solemn ceremony in connection was held at the Petrovsky Stadium – the home arena of Zenit. The airline has prepared a group of flight attendants to work on flights with the team. In addition, together with doctors and nutritionists, a special sports onboard food has been developed.[21]

In November 2014, the first aircraft in the airline's history in the light blue-white -blue livery of the football club was presented in Saint Petersburg. The aircraft carries out not only flights of Zenit, but is also involved in operation of regular flights of the airline.

On July 19, 2015, a new partnership agreement was signed between Rossiya Airlines and FC Zenit at the Petrovsky Stadium. The new partner agreement is designed for one year with the possibility of further extension.

In October 2017, within the framework of cooperation with the football club, the airline received the right to name the stand at the Gazprom Arena: Rossiya – sector C.

On July 15, 2019, the official signing of the partnership agreement between Rossiya Airlines and FC Zenit took place at the Gazprom Arena stadium. After the completion of the ceremony, the game between Zenit and Tambov was held. Rossiya prepared a special campaign in support of the team: the airline's flight attendants gave a pre-match briefing instructions to all fans.

In addition to transporting football club players, the plane operates regular flights.[22]

Special projects
Rossiya Airlines; Airbus A319 in Zenitolet livery

Zenitolet

In July 2014, Rossiya Airlines became the official carrier of Zenit Saint Petersburg football club.

In early October 2014, the airline and the football club announced a contest «Paint the Zenit’s aircraft!», in which more than two hundred participants from all regions of Russia and other countries competed for the right to become the author of the new aircraft livery. The competition jury, headed by FC Zenit head coach Andre Villas-Boas, determined the winner to be a sketch of Sergei Skrebnev. His version of the special livery was chosen to be applied to the A319 aircraft with the tail number VQ-BAS.

On October 29, 2014, the aircraft was delivered to the Netherlands for painting[23]. On November 11 of the same year, the liner was presented at Pulkovo International Airport.[24][25]

Boeing 747 of Rossiya Airines in Tigrolet livery

Care About Tigers/Tigrolet

In September 2016, Rossiya Airlines together with the Amur Tiger Center presented a Boeing 747 (EI-XLD) aircraft named after Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in a special tiger livery. The nose of the aircraft was decorated with an image of the head of the Siberian (Amur) tiger.

The goal of the project is to attract public attention to the conservation of populations of rare species of wild animals. The airliner operates the most popular routes to the cities of the Far East and popular resort destinations within Russia. The aircraft made its first flight on September 11 to Vladivostok.[26]

Rossiya Airlines' Beoing 777 in Leolet livery

Far Easter (Amur) Leopard/Leolet

In February 2017, Rossiya Airlines unveiled Boeing 777-300 (EI-UNP) named after the city of Ussuriysk, featuring the muzzle of the Far Eastern (Amur) leopard, the rarest of all leopard subspecies. The project was implemented jointly with the Autonomus non-profit organization Far Eastern Leopards. The decision to replenish the fleet with an aircraft in the original livery was made in order to support environmental initiatives carried out within the Framework of the Year of Ecology in Russia.

The aircraft performs flights on the most popular and socially significant routes to the cities of the Far East and popular domestic and international resorts.[27]

Rossiya Airlines' Airbus A319 in Sportolet livery

Sportolet

On May 29, 2018, the airline received an Airbus A319 VQ-BCP Rostov-on-Don in a new exclusive livery dedicated to Russian sports. The main elements of the special sports livery are stylized images and attributes representing four sports — football, hockey, gymnastics, and figure skating — combining winter and summer varieties, team and individual sports, which are popular among the most the Russian audience of fans. All elements of the image are stylized by polygonal graphics that compliments the style of Zenitolet livery. The creative concept and design of the project were developed and implemented by the airline's specialists.

In June 2018, a competition to choose a name for the airliner in a new unique sports livery was announced on the airline's social network. During the week, the contestants offered more than 130 different names. The most popular was Sportolet.[28]

gollark: I mean, kind of. JS numbers are limited. I don't know exactly what the ceiling is before they're too messed-up to paginate properly.
gollark: Now, the average website has an infinite number of pages.
gollark: Infinite pages:https://osmarks.tk/pages.html
gollark: I'm making the infinite pages now.
gollark: That way the average user will have *infinity* pages.

References
  1. (in Russian) Federal State Unitary Enterprise "State Air Traffic Management Corporation", Airline Reference, Vol. 1, Russian Federation, 1 June 2007, p. 370
  2. rossiya-airlines.com - About us retrieved 2016-09-19
  3. Flight International 12–18 April 2005
  4. UzReport Archived 2006-11-25 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 25 November 2006
  5. "Russia to corporatize Rossiya air carrier, merge with Aeroflot | Business | RIA Novosti". En.rian.ru. 2010-02-02. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  6. "Региональное законодательство". www.regionz.ru. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  7. "Russia to corporatize Rossiya air carrier, merge with Aeroflot | Business | RIA Novosti". En.rian.ru. 2010-02-02. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  8. Federal State Unitary Enterprise "State Air Traffic Management Corporation", Airline Reference, Vol. 1, Russian Federation, 20 February 2007, p. 122
  9. "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-10. p. 59.
  10. "Contacts." Aurora. Retrieved on 16 July 2016. "693023, Russia, Sakhalin, Yuzhno-Sakhalisnk, Gorkogo Str. 50-а" - Address in Russian: "693023, Россия, Сахалинская область, г. Южно-Сахалинск, ул. Горького д. 50-а"
  11. "airline.ee". www.airline.ee. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  12. Все московские рейсы Orenair и Донавиа переводятся во Внуково
  13. "About". www.rossiya-airlines.com. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  14. "О компании". www.rossiya-airlines.com (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  15. "Fleet". rossiya-airlines.com.
  16. "О компании". www.rossiya-airlines.com (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  17. "О компании". www.rossiya-airlines.com (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  18. "О компании". www.rossiya-airlines.com (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  19. "О компании". www.rossiya-airlines.com (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  20. "О компании". www.rossiya-airlines.com (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  21. "Прямо сейчас на стадионе «Петровский» проходит.. | Авиакомпания "Россия" | VK". m.vk.com. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  22. "About". www.rossiya-airlines.com. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  23. "Сегодня утром самолет Airbus A319 с бортовым.. | Авиакомпания "Россия" | VK". m.vk.com. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  24. "Авиакомпания «Россия»". www.rossiya-airlines.com. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  25. "Сегодня в аэропорту Пулково мы представили.. | Авиакомпания "Россия" | VK". m.vk.com. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  26. "Авиакомпания «Россия»". www.rossiya-airlines.com. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  27. "About". www.rossiya-airlines.com. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  28. "About". www.rossiya-airlines.com. Retrieved 2020-07-16.

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