Vim Avia is a Russian airline based at Moscow Domodedovo Airport. Flight destinations are mainly Russian cities. During the season, Vim Avia operated flights to resort countries: Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Austria, Greece, Sri Lanka.

The Vim-Avia airline completed its operations in 2017.

Airline activities

Since 2007, the airline began to actively engage in both regular and charter flights. Due to regular flight delays, the Federal Air Transport Agency decided to limit the airline's flights by 25%.

From 2010 to 2011, Vim Avia very actively began to develop domestic passenger transportation. Flights to major Russian cities (Ekaterinburg, Khabarovsk, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Chita, Krasnodar and others) have increased to twice a day. Thus, many new regular flights were opened, and the volume of traffic increased significantly.

In 2016, the airline continued to operate charter and scheduled flights on both domestic and international routes. Due to increasing flight delays, Vim Avia had to replenish its air fleet with newer aircraft.

In 2017, the first information about problems at the airline appeared: the delay of a large number of flights was associated with large debts for fuel materials. Refueling of vessels was stopped due to a lack of resources to continue operations. Also hanging over the sides is the threat of arrest for large debts for leasing aircraft.

History of creation

Vim Avia was founded in 2002. The fleet consisted of four aircraft, and flights were carried out mainly to Asian destinations. In 2004, the company significantly expanded its aircraft fleet and put into operation more than a dozen Boeings. Cost-effective and comfortable aircraft made it possible to begin flights to Europe. Two years later, 4 more aircraft were purchased, and the company became one of the largest air carriers in Russia. In 2014, the fleet was replenished with Airbus A319.

Company aircraft

How many aircraft are in the Vim Avia fleet? The fleet consisted of 28 aircraft. The oldest Boeing 767-300 is 26 years old, the youngest is the Airbus A319, it is 10 years old. Vim Avia's fleet of aircraft has an average age of 17.9 years.

4 aircraft

The airliners represent a shortened version of the Airbus A320 with an increased flight range. It is a narrow-body passenger jet with two engines. The number of seats depends on the model and ranges from 124 to 156 people.

The airliner is capable of covering a distance of 6,900 kilometers without refueling. Final assembly takes place in the city of Hamburg in Germany.

The average age of the Airbus A319 aircraft in the Vim Avia fleet is 10.9 years.

Boeing 757-200. 7 sides

The Boeing 757 is a narrow-body passenger airliner for medium-range flights. This is the most common option. The board can accommodate from 200 to 235 passengers, depending on the individual configuration.

Flight range - 5500 kilometers. Production of the Boeing 757-200 ended in 2004, but the aircraft is still used by many airlines. A total of 1,050 units were produced.

The average age of Vim Avia's fleet of Boeing 757-200 aircraft is 25 years.

Boeing 737-500. 2 sides

This is a passenger airliner, which is considered the most common aircraft in the history of aviation. The Boeing 737-500 is a shortened version of the 737-300, with an increased range. Passenger capacity - 132 seats. Serial production ended in 1999. The maximum flight altitude is 11,300 kilometers. The age of the Vim Avia aircraft is 19.5 and 25.4 years.

Boeing 767-300. 2 sides

The board is a wide-body airliner for medium and long-haul flights. This is the first airliner to be eligible for scheduled flights across the Atlantic.

The 767-300 is lengthened by 6.6 meters compared to the Boeing 767-200. The length of the aircraft is 55 meters. The flight range is 9700 kilometers. The age of the vessels is 21.8 and 26.1 years.

Boeing 777-200. 10 sides

The Boeing 777-200 is a wide-body passenger aircraft for long-haul flights. Passenger capacity - from 300 to 550 people. This is one of the largest airliners with two engines, powerful gas turbine engines and six-wheeled landing gear.

777-200 is the first modification of the aircraft. Flight range with maximum load is 10,750-14,300 kilometers, cruising speed is 905 kilometers per hour.

The average age of the Boeing 777-200 used by Vim Avia is 18.4 years.

To ensure that the aircraft is in good technical condition, even after two decades of continuous operation, many strict rules and regulations have been developed that must be strictly followed! All aircraft systems are tested, and if the technicians have any questions, the plane will not be allowed to take off, but will be sent for more thorough diagnostics and repairs.

Most aircraft flying in Russia are no older than their counterparts used abroad. However, 17.7% of the aircraft fleet are old aircraft, many of which have reached the end of their service life and have problems with parts. Another disadvantage of the domestic market is problems with service and supervision, which is why almost the entire Russian fleet is registered in third countries

Photo: Transport-Photo Images

It became the largest disaster in the history of Russian aviation. The day after the tragedy of the Kogalymavia (Metrojet) Airbus 321, which killed 224 people, Russian investigators opened two criminal cases under the articles “provision of services that do not meet safety requirements” and “violation of flight safety rules or preparation for them.” . Searches took place at the carrier's office, Domodedovo, and Samara airport, where the plane was refueling. State Duma deputies immediately came out in favor of banning the operation of aircraft over 15 years old (Airbus Kogalymavia was 18 years old) and revoking the licenses of carrier companies with a small number of aircraft. The head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Alexei Pushkov, said that it leads to plane crashes. Deputies put forward similar initiatives after the crash of a 23-year-old Boeing 737 in Kazan on October 17, 2013. Then, as now, the public ignored statements from airlines and industry experts who argued that an airplane is not a machine and 20 years of operation is not such a long time for it.

Both planes - Boeing in Kazan and Airbus over Sinai - according to the latest data, were operational. The Kazan disaster, as the commission of inquiry decided, was an Egyptian one - three weeks later it was recognized as a terrorist attack. Suspicions about the poor condition of aircraft flying in Russia, however, have not evaporated. RBC analyzed the fleet of Russian companies operating scheduled and charter passenger flights and found out whether suspicions about its wear and tear were justified.

What we thought

The basis was the list of valid airworthiness certificates of the Federal Air Transport Agency as of October 22, 2015 (that is, aircraft that are allowed to fly in Russia), data from the official websites of carriers and Internet resources airfleets.com, russianplanes.net and flightradar24.com. We excluded from the complete list small aircraft (private aircraft), local airline aircraft (practical range less than 1000 km, mainly An-2), helicopters, business jets, as well as all aircraft not used to transport passengers - for example, cargo and agricultural. The sample also did not include aircraft that are not used to transport passengers for commercial purposes: for example, the fleet of the Air Force, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the special detachment for transporting top officials (SLO Rossiya), as well as aircraft belonging to aircraft manufacturing plants. The lists we received with detailed information about each aircraft were sent to all operating airlines with a request to confirm the accuracy of the data we collected. All responses were taken into account in the analysis results.

Our statistics also included aircraft from the second largest Russian airline, Transaero. was accepted on October 1, and on October 26 the company lost its air operator certificate and ceased operations. The Transaero fleet is in the process of being returned to the lessors: several dozen cars can be received by Aeroflot, which received part of the airline’s routes, the rest will be sold on the market or written off. Taking into account the entire Transaero fleet in the sample (according to open data as of October, this is 122 aircraft), we were guided by the fact that most of it could go to other Russian operators, and the composition of the fleet reflects the economic model of the largest private Russian carrier.

What will happen to the huge fleet of Transaero, the second carrier after Aeroflot in terms of the number of aircraft (one of them is in the photo), is still unclear (Photo: TASS)

Which models do you choose?

The most popular family in Russia is the medium-haul Airbus 320 (A320, A319 and A321): 249 such aircraft are allowed to fly in the country. In second place with 203 aircraft is the family of medium-haul Boeing 737, the flights of which were recently asked to be suspended by the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC).

According to our data, there are only 130 long-haul aircraft in Russia, of which 76.6% are Boeing 747, 767 and 777 models.

There is no definition of a medium-haul aircraft in Russian legislation. In the world, it is customary to classify vehicles with a flight range of over 2.5 thousand km into this category. Long-range vehicles in Russia are considered to be those with a flight range of more than 8 thousand km.

Airbus became the leader among aircraft flying on medium-haul routes in Russia not so long ago. The Big Four companies - Aeroflot, S7, UTair, Transaero - divided their preferences in two in 2013, explains Andrei Kramarenko, a researcher at the Institute of Transport Economics and Transport Policy at the Higher School of Economics. The first two chose Airbus, the second - Boeing. Now Transaero has stopped flying, and UTair has significantly reduced its fleet.

Two competing aircraft makers account for most of the world's aircraft fleets. According to the international organization Center for Aviation (CAPA, Australia) for April 2013, of all aircraft operated in the world, 39.7% are Boeing aircraft and 28.7% are Airbus. Russia is no exception. The aircraft of the two companies occupy 61.7% of the Russian fleet, 14.3% - other foreign aircraft (Embraer, Bombardier, De Havilland Canada, Let, ATR).

Domestic aircraft account for only 24% of the total fleet of Russian carriers. Moreover, for modern models - An-148, Tu-204, Tu-214 and Sukhoi Superjet - only 6.3%. The remaining 17.7% are old modifications of An, Tu and Yak, most of which flew in the USSR. “But the share of these cars in the volume of passenger traffic is less than 5%,” adds Alexander Fridlyand, a professor at the Moscow State Technical University of Civil Aviation.

In terms of quantity, Sukhoi Superjet is the leader among modern Russian models: domestic airlines have 39 such aircraft. “The Sukhoi Superjet has a niche, but it is very narrow due to its size (capacity - up to 100 seats. - RBC),” says Friedland. According to him, for local and regional routes it is large, but on main routes with good passenger traffic it is inferior to economical cars by 150-200 seats. “His niche is mainline, but weak in flow directions,” the interlocutor believes.

The An-24 has not been produced since 1979, but there are still 67 such aircraft in the fleet of Russian companies (Photo: Transport-Photo Images)

Of the Soviet aircraft, the An-24 is the largest in the airline fleet - 67 aircraft. A turboprop passenger aircraft for short and medium-haul routes was developed by the Antonov Design Bureau (KB) in the late 1950s. Maximum capacity is up to 52 passengers. It is operated mainly by Russian regional companies (RBC considers such companies not to operate long-haul flights, flights through the capital's air hub and those not based in Moscow and St. Petersburg). “The An-24 is the only aircraft in the world of this class that lands on the ground, on compacted snow or ice,” recalls Oleg Smirnov, Honored Pilot of the USSR, President of the Air Transport Infrastructure Development Fund. “He flew throughout the entire airspace of the USSR and in the current conditions in the Far North is practically irreplaceable.”

Now the An-24 continues to be used by companies based in the north: Polar Airlines, Yakutia, Chukotavia. For now, it is impossible to replace it en masse with foreign models. Firstly, planes of foreign brands that could land at airfields in these regions accommodate fewer passengers, explains Kramarenko. In addition, the technical documentation for them is in English, which not all An-24 pilots and personnel speak. However, during 2012-2013, Yakutia leased five Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft with a capacity of 70 to 80 seats. In addition to Bombardier, Aeroflot's subsidiary, the Far Eastern airline Aurora, flies Canadian De Havilland Canada 6 Twin Otter. Most likely, in the coming years, all An-24s will be replaced by foreign aircraft, “because they will exhaust their service life and it will become extremely difficult and expensive to maintain their airworthiness,” predicts Dmitry Mirgorodsky, partner of the consulting company Concuros, former vice-president of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft. There is no replacement for them with domestic analogues.

The second most popular among Soviet aircraft is the Yak-42: there are 33 such aircraft in the fleet of Russian airlines. However, several of them are in storage: some are waiting for parts to be replaced, some will no longer fly into the air. The cars are part of the fleets of Gazpromavia, Grozny Avia, Izhavia, and Saratov Airlines. The latter company began flying Brazilian Embraer 190s two years ago.

How old are planes in Russia?

As the study showed, on average in Russia the age of foreign models is less than their service life, while our aircraft are often older. According to Andrey Sharypov, head of the civil aviation vessel certification department of the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation, for foreign aircraft it is about 40-60 thousand hours, that is, 30 years. For the Soviets it was less - about 20 years. The manufacturer can extend the service life individually for each vessel.

For example, the average age of the Boeing 737 Classic generation (modifications 300, 400, 500) in Russia is 20.2 years. Generations Boeing 737 Next Generation (modifications 600, 700, 800, 900) - 9.1 years. Modifications of Airbus 320 - 7.5 years, A319 - 11.9 years (see infographic). These figures are not significantly different from the world average. The Dutch airline KLM, according to planespotters.net, Boeing New Generation flies on average at the age of 9.3 years. The American low-cost airline Southwest Airlines, according to USA Today and the airfleets.net portal, is 9.7 years old. The Boeing 737 Classic aircraft (modifications 300, 400 and 500) of this airline are on average more than 22 years old.

As for Airbus, the A320 fleet of the German Germanwings is 23 years old. The American Delta, which flies with Aeroflot in the Skyteam alliance, has a lifespan of 20.7 years. Delta's A319 aircraft are 13.8 years old.

The oldest model of aircraft flying in Russia is the An-24. On average they are 42.1 years old. The average age of another Soviet aircraft still in operation, the Yak-42, is 24.7 years.

Soviet aircraft and modern Russian ones (with the exception of Sukhoi Superjet), unlike foreign ones, have problems with parts. Mass production of such machines has been stopped, so you have to order components individually, which costs several times more, says Sergei Koval, deputy head of the monitoring and authentication department of the Civil Aviation Research Institute. As a result, parts with forged documents are sometimes installed on Soviet cars. According to Koval’s estimates, the market now contains up to 8% of illegal parts, and from 2001 to 2015, 50 serious incidents occurred due to problems with parts (incidents with airplanes and helicopters are taken into account).

What happened to Soviet design bureaus

The Saratov Aviation Plant, which produced Yak aircraft, went bankrupt and was completely liquidated. The design bureaus that developed Soviet aircraft—the Tupolev Design Bureau and the Yakovlev Design Bureau (now part of the United Aircraft Corporation)—continue to exist mainly by supporting the remaining aircraft in service, Koval says. The Antonov Design Bureau (now the Antonov state enterprise) is located in Ukraine.

The age of the aircraft, according to professionals, does not affect its technical condition and airworthiness. “As a ship commander, I don’t ask: will you give me an old plane or will I fly on a new one? This doesn’t interest me at all,” explains Smirnov. The main thing is whether the aircraft underwent maintenance and repairs on time throughout its life. In addition, every part of the aircraft has its own resources. By that time, says Smirnov, “as the aircraft turns 17 years old, these parts can be replaced several times.”

The study found that 58.7% of aircraft in the Russian fleet had only one or two operators. And more than ten air carriers that replaced each other - only 3% of boards are in baggage. Moreover, in many cases, two of the same companies used aircraft in turns. This, for example, was the case with the Izhavia airline’s Yak-42: according to data from airfleets.net, if we take into account alternating carriers, it changed 20 operators in 28 and a half years. According to Smirnov, professionals are distrustful of an aircraft that has previously flown “in countries with high humidity, for example in Africa.” However, the lessor and the owner are obliged to put such a car in order. In this regard, the lessor, and not the previous operator, is important for the technical condition of the aircraft, the expert believes.

As a rule, carriers abandon aircraft for economic reasons, and not because of the end of its life, according to a study by leasing company Avalon (offices in the USA, Ireland, Dubai, Singapore and China). In Russia, foreign and new domestic aircraft models cease to be used at the age of 20-23, says HSE researcher Kramarenko. Global figures, according to Avalon research, are similar.

Airline age preferences

Russian airlines with the oldest fleet use Soviet aircraft. Among carriers with ten or more aircraft, the oldest fleet—41.2 years—has the Turukhan company, part of the UTair group. It mainly operates custom flights, including for mining companies. But Turukhan also has regular transportation, so its aircraft were included in our study.

In total, there are 16 companies in Russia operating aircraft over 25 years old for regular and charter transportation (see table).

The youngest park is at Pobeda, a subsidiary of Aeroflot that recently started operating. Its sides are only a year old. Aeroflot’s average fleet age, according to RBC calculations, is 4.6 years. The planes of Transaero, which stopped flying, were on average 18.6 years old (the S7 fleet was 9.2 years old, and UTair was 14 years old). In 2005-2008, many Russian airlines, including the Big Four carriers, when fuel prices went up, massively renewed their fleet, preferring aircraft with lower fuel consumption. In particular, this explains the rather young fleet of foreign aircraft in Russia, notes Fridland.

On April 1, 2001, regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) came into force, establishing reduced engine noise levels for aircraft flying in Europe. Almost all Soviet and Russian aircraft of that time did not fall under the new criteria: Tu-134, Tu-154B, Tu-154M, Il-62, Il-86. Thus, airlines that actively flew to Europe and transited over European countries were forced to replace their old noisy machines with new imported ones.

Low-cost airline Pobeda is the youngest Russian air carrier with the youngest fleet. Their Boeing is only a year old on average (Photo: TASS)

There is also a significant difference between the average age of aircraft from different companies abroad. According to a Bloomberg rating compiled in January 2013, the American Delta has an average age of 15.8 years, Southwest Airlines - 14.7, Aeromexico - 15.2, Lufthansa - 12.4, Air France - 11.5, Ryanair - five years.

Each company chooses for itself what is more cost-effective for it: a new or older aircraft, Mirgorodsky emphasizes. For example, purchasing a new Boeing 737-800 will cost approximately $48-55 million. The same ten-year-old model will already cost $16-18 million, says Alexander Kochetkov, head of the leasing company Gold"nsky Leasing. But old aircraft also require maintenance costs. Not all companies can afford to pay such sums at a time - they have to lease the machines.In Russia, according to estimates by the company Ilyushin Finance Co., at least 80% of the aircraft in use are leased.

This is exactly what the largest market player, Aeroflot, is doing, intending to enter the top 20 global air carriers in terms of revenue and passenger traffic by 2025. For the sake of this goal, the airline has been not only increasing but also refreshing its fleet for several years, General Director Vitaly Savelyev has repeatedly said in his interviews. “It’s difficult to compete on the global market with an old aircraft,” Mirgorodsky explains the strategy. Aeroflot also gives older models to its subsidiaries - Aurora Airlines, Orenburg Airlines, Donavia, and Rossiya.

But many companies don’t even have enough money to lease new aircraft. Transaero, for example, which dreamed of ousting a state-owned competitor, due to expensive debt financing, as it itself admitted in its financial statements, was expanding its fleet with cheap foreign and new cars, Vedomosti wrote. After the devaluation of the ruble at the end of last year, leasing for Russian companies has become significantly more expensive, even for old aircraft (leasing payments are made in foreign currency. - RBC), adds Mirgorodsky. According to Kochetkov’s estimates, leasing a new Boeing 737-800 costs an average of $4.2 million per year, and about $2 million for a ten-year one.

Vim-Avia is a major air carrier. The company is registered as a Limited Liability Company. Today this organization operates flights to various destinations. Regular flights are organized to other cities of Russia, to different countries and cities in Europe and Central Asia. The company is based at Moscow Domodedovo Airport. Vim-Avia airline code:

1. IATA – NN.
2. SKAO – MOV.
3. Internal – NN.

The company began its activities in 2002. Its creator is V.I. Merkulov, who was previously the director of the Aerofreight company. The initials of the full name of the company founder were taken as the name of the organization (VIM).

Whose airline is Vim-Avia? Today, all its shares belong to the spouses Rashid Mursekaev and his wife Svetlana. The company specializes in charter and scheduled domestic and international passenger flights.

Airplane "Vim-Avia"

Story

When planning a flight to another city or country, the first thing you need to choose is a carrier. When choosing, many people ask themselves: what kind of airline is Vim-Avia? To understand what this organization is, you need to learn about how it arose and developed.

The company received the right to carry out passenger transportation at the end of 2003. An operator's certificate was issued in November. At that time, the company had only 4 aircraft in its fleet, which were used primarily for flights to Asian countries. Flights were carried out to China, Thailand and Vietnam from Moscow. The aircraft carried out not only passenger but also cargo transportation.

2 years after its inception, the carrier began to implement a large-scale project to replace and expand its aircraft fleet. 12 Boeings were purchased from Lufthansa, which were characterized by economical fuel consumption and increased comfort for passengers. After acquiring new aircraft, this carrier managed to take a leading position among other airlines in operating tourist charter flights to Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey from Moscow.

Also, after expanding the transport fleet, Vim-Avia began to operate flights to Western Europe, mainly to popular tourist cities and resorts. Thus, this company managed to outstrip some other carriers using the Il-86 in terms of the number of flights and passenger turnover. Due to noise restrictions, such planes could not carry passengers to countries such as Italy and Spain. Therefore, new flights from the Vim-Avia company have become in great demand among tourists.

In subsequent years, there was a gradual increase in passenger traffic. The number of flights to different destinations also increased. In particular, by 2010 the company carried out seasonal air transportation from different cities of Russia to Greece, Bulgaria, Spain, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco. In 2013 the company transported by aircraft more than 1.5 million people j. Almost 9,000 flights were carried out in 1 year. In the same year, the organization began implementing a fleet expansion program. Many negotiations were held with various aircraft suppliers, both Russian and foreign. The company signed an agreement to purchase 4 new Airbuses, which are used not only for flights on existing routes, but also for flights on new routes.

In 2015, the number of passengers transported already exceeded 1.6 million people. In addition to regular passenger flights, the carrier continued to implement socially significant programs. Air transportation of children-athletes, creative groups, children and parents was carried out within the framework of various social projects.

Vim-Avia flight attendant uniform

Flight crew and transportation safety

The Vim-Avia company has its own aviation training center (ATC). The main task of the ATC is to implement vocational training programs. To train and improve the qualifications of aviation specialists, the carrier has the necessary licenses and certificates. The training center provides training, retraining and advanced training for specialists who work in the company. In addition, specialists undergo training abroad.

The safety of flights, in addition to the history of successful flights, is confirmed by many facts. Firstly, this airline is included in its own register of UN carriers. Vim-Avia has a good reputation as a carrier that can operate flights of increased complexity. Secondly, confirmation of flight safety is the presence of an IOSA certificate. Thirdly, the company’s aviation specialists regularly undergo advanced training courses according to programs developed in accordance with international standards. More detailed information is available on the official website of the Vim-Avia airline.

Rosaviatsia notes that at VIM-Avia “the situation is extremely difficult.” “The carrier does not have the resources to continue operating activities, as a result of which refueling and servicing of aircraft at airports in Russia and foreign countries has been stopped. Aircraft leased are under threat of seizure, since the airline has large overdue debts to lessors,” the department notes. According to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), the amount of total accounts payable of VIM-Avia ranges from 3 billion to 10 billion rubles, 1 billion rubles. the company owes for aircraft maintenance, and half of this amount is a debt to Domodedovo.

The transportation of passengers on international charter flights will be financed from extra-budgetary sources, Rosaviation reports. At the same time, the department’s press service clarified that in order to monitor the expenditure of these funds, external management is being introduced at VIM-Avia, which will be formed from representatives of Vnukovo Airport and airlines with experience in anti-crisis management.

Airline "VIM-Avia"

VIM-Avia airline was founded in October 2002. The carrier operated its first flights mainly in the Asian direction (Vietnam, China, Thailand). The airline's fleet consists of Boeing 777-300, 777-200, 767-300, 757-200 and Airbus 319-111, 330-200. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, the founders of VIM-Avia LLC are Rashid (1%) and Svetlana (99%) Mursekaevs. They are also listed as the founders of Invest Holding PJSC, which was declared bankrupt in July 2017.

Financial indicators
In 2016, the company showed a net profit of 89 million rubles. with revenue of 17.174 billion rubles. The value of assets as of December 31, 2016 was 10.481 billion rubles, and net financial debt was 7.007 billion rubles. (source: GMC Rosstat).

Transportation volumes
According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, in 2016 the VIM-Avia company transported 2.076 million passengers, showing an increase in this indicator by 30% and taking ninth place in the industry. The company itself associated this growth with the introduction of new aircraft (four Boeing 737-500, two Boeing 767-300, six Boeing 777-200 and one Airbus A330-200). From January to August 2017, the number of passengers carried continued to grow compared to the same period last year - by 31.4%. Nevertheless, the company dropped to tenth place, behind North Wind.

Airline problems
In 2016, the company had problems with passenger transportation. VIM-Avia allowed massive flight delays of many hours. In July 2016, Rosaviatsia warned VIM-Avia about the possibility of limiting its air operator certificate due to massive delays and gave it a week to resolve all problems. The carrier's spokeswoman noted that the delays were due to the high season and the attempted coup in Turkey. The day after the warning was issued, the company announced that the transportation situation had stabilized and reported that the problems had been resolved thanks to the introduction of new ships.

The company ran into problems again in 2017 when dozens of flights were canceled after delays in early June. A representative of Rostransnadzor then explained the failure of the charter program by delays in aircraft repairs. The number of victims due to problems at VIM-Avia in June 2017 was estimated at approximately 30 thousand people. As a result, the airline's share of delayed flights this month was 13.56%. In July-August, problems remained: in July the share of delayed flights was 13.83%, and in August - 19.45%. In September, the airline delayed more than 40% of its flights.​

In January-September 2017, the department of state aviation supervision and supervision of transport safety in the Volga Federal District conducted seven inspections of the airline, mainly at the request of citizens.

Now Rosaviation, together with VIM-Avia, interested airlines and Vnukovo Airport, is developing a schedule for the removal of charter passengers from abroad. Charter passengers are already being transported from Antalya at the expense of tour operators on board other Russian airlines. Royal Flight airline operated flights from Antalya to Moscow and back on Tuesday, carrying 545 passengers. Azur Air airline sent 235 passengers from Antalya to Moscow and 160 passengers on the return flight. Other airlines are also joining in cooperation with tour operators. The Greek airline Ellin Air has announced its readiness to transport passengers on VIM-Avia charter flights at its own expense.

A source in the Ministry of Transport explained to RBC that in fact, tour operators will have to pay for charter flights themselves again, and they are already doing this. Top managers of two tour operators who participated in a meeting on the situation with VIM-Avia at Rostourism, which also took place on Tuesday, confirmed to RBC that they would again pay other carriers for tourists to return home. At the same time, RBC’s interlocutors noted, tour operators fully paid for VIM-Avia’s charter programs. Based on the fact that about 40 thousand passengers ended up abroad, tour operators will have to spend about €8 million (about 550 million rubles) on their transportation, the head of one of the tour operators calculated.

“Tourists return home at our expense,” Coral Travel representative Marina Makarkova told RBC. Currently, about 7 thousand Russians sent by this tour operator are abroad with VIM-Avia tickets. Makarkova admits that the company does not yet have information whether it will be compensated for the additional costs of returning tourists.

Based on the script by Transaero

The fate of the VIM-Avia airline is predetermined, says an RBC source who was present at the meeting at the Federal Air Transport Agency. “In the near future, the operator’s certificate of VIM-Avia will be suspended,” he believes. A VIM-Avia representative declined to comment.

The position of the Ministry of Transport, which on Monday was inclined to save the airline, has changed dramatically. The head of the ministry, Maxim Sokolov, said on Tuesday that state support for VIM-Avia is pointless.

“The situation with VIM-Avia will probably develop according to the scenario of Transaero, which stopped flying at the end of 2015, but with a discount for the fact that the airline’s scale is smaller than Transaero, and taking into account the fact that the share of charter flights in the VIM-Avia network there are more than regular ones,” says Raiffeisenbank analyst Konstantin Yuminov. According to him, in Russian aviation history there were no examples of an airline continuing to fly after the suspension of flights. If the certificate is suspended, there is very little chance of resuming transportation, the analyst says. He recalls that foreign leasing companies, as a rule, immediately take away aircraft from the airline in such a situation. According to VIM-Avia, 24 of the 25 aircraft it operates are leased.

VIM-Avia is among the top 10 Russian airlines in terms of the number of passengers carried - more than 2 million people in 2016. At the end of May, massive delays of VIM-Avia flights from Russian cities began, and the company reduced its charter program. In September, it found itself unable to pay for airport services, including its base, Domodedovo Airport.

According to Deputy Head of the Ministry of Transport Valery Okulov, the total amount of the airline's debt has not yet been calculated. The company's main creditor, Zenit Bank, stated that it does not plan to provide funds to VIM-Avia.

Vim Avia airline, Russia: fleet, routes, passenger reviews.

The airline performed its last flights on October 15, 2017. Since October 23, 2017, by order of the Federal Air Transport Agency, the operator's certificate has been suspended. after October 22, 2017.

The Russian airline Vim Avia is based at Domodedovo Airport. It carries out regular and charter flights throughout Russia, Europe and countries near and far abroad.

The "Seat selection" service is valid only on Vim Avia flights from Domodedovo.

Flight geography

Among the main destinations of Vim Avia are the Russian Ekaterinburg, Sochi, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Khabarovsk, Barnaul, Krasnodar, Novosibirsk, Magadan, Gelendzhik, Pevek. Vim Avia operates seasonal charter flights to resorts in Bulgaria, Israel, India, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Italy, Spain, Greece, France, Finland, and Austria. There are several flights to Uzbekistan.

Aircraft fleet

Vim-Avia's aircraft fleet consists of Boeing 757-200, Boeing 777-200ER, Airbus A319-100 and Boeing 737-500. These aircraft are considered one of the most reliable in the world.

Services on board

The seats in the cabin meet international standards and have a distance between seats of 79 cm. Depending on the flight distance, passengers will be offered food and drinks.

You are allowed to take hand luggage weighing up to 10 kg on board the plane, and you can carry personal items up to 23 kg free of charge in the luggage compartment.

"Vim Avia" offers its passengers the service "Choosing a seat on the plane." You can reserve your desired seat by phone no later than 12 hours before flight departure. The "Seat selection" service is valid only on flights from Domodedovo. However, the service does not work if the airline cancels the flight due to weather conditions. If a passenger refuses to fly on a flight that Vim Avia rescheduled and surrenders the ticket, the service will also be cancelled.

Vim Avia asks all passengers who require special meals on board (dietary, vegetarian, children's, prepared according to Muslim traditions or consisting of seafood dishes) to notify the airline about this no later than 24 hours before departure.

Business Class

The spacious business class cabin is located at the front of the aircraft and is equipped with comfortable ergonomic transformable seats. During the flight, passengers are offered special business meals and drinks. Baggage allowance for business class has been increased: hand luggage - 15 kg, luggage - 2 pieces of 32 kg each.