Sky Express

CJSC Sky Express (Russian: ЗАО «Небесный Экспресс»), simply known as Sky Express and in Russian as Скай Экспресс, was a Russian low-cost airline. Its main base was Vnukovo International Airport, Moscow, Russia.

This article is about the Russian low-cost carrier. For the regional airline in Greece, see Sky Express (Greece).
Sky Express
Скай Экспресс
IATA ICAO Callsign
XW[1] SXR[1] SKYSTORM[1]
Founded2006
Commenced operations29 January 2007
Ceased operations29 October 2011
Operating basesMoscow-Vnukovo
Fleet size9
Destinations9
Parent companyKuban Airlines (2011)
HeadquartersMoscow, Russia
Key peopleMarina Vladimirovna Bukalova (MD)[1]
Websitewww.skyexpress.ru

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 CEO Boris Abramovich, EBRD, Altima Partners and others, becoming Russia's first low-cost airline. The first flight took off on 29 January 2007 from Moscow to Sochi.

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 will be transferred to Kuban Airlines.

Destinations
A Sky Express Boeing 737-500 landing at Vnukovo Airport, Russia (2010)
A Sky Express Boeing 737-300 landing at Salzburg Airport, Austria (2012)

In March 2011, Sky Express served the following destinations:[2]

Regular flights

Charter flights

Additionally, Sky Express operated charter flights on a seasonal basis to the following destinations during the summer of 2009 and 2010:[3]

Fleet
Sky Express Boeing 737-300

The Sky Express fleet consisted of the following aircraft in November 2011:[6]

Sky Express fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers
Airbus A319-100 3 156
Boeing 737-300 2 148
Boeing 737-500 2 132

Incidents
  • On 24 October 2008, the crew of Sky Express flight XW230 from Sochi to Vnukovo Airport with 132 passengers, reported an attempted hijacking by a drunk passenger, and threatened to explode a bomb demanding the airplane to divert to Vienna. The crew raised a hijack alert almost immediately after liftoff. Emergency services and police were awaiting the plane in Moscow, and the passenger was arrested.[7]
  • On 2 April 2009, a Boeing 737 of Sky Express made an emergency landing at Vnukovo Airport 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.[8]
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References
  1. Federal State Unitary Enterprise "State Air Traffic Management Corporation", Airline Reference, Vol. 1, Russian Federation, 20 February 2007, p. 303
  2. Sky Express website - Flight Schedule
  3. Sky Express website - Flight Schedule (Russian language only)
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved 2009-11-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved 2009-11-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Sky Express fleet list at planespotters.net Archived 2011-10-03 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Sky Express XW230 Hijack Scare
  8. Boeing 737 lands safely after emergency landing in Moscow (CNN)
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