Red Wings, which operates only Russian-made aircraft, positions itself as a low-cost airline, that is, as a low-cost airline with flexible price tariffs for purchased tickets. In addition, low prices are kept due to the weight limit on luggage.
Airline information
Russian airline "Red Wings" was founded in 1999. Initially, it was called so - "Airline 400". After the change of owners and rebranding in 2007, the carrier changed its name to the current one. Until 2013, it was owned by the National Reserve Corporation, a Russian financial and industrial holding that has shares in more than 100 organizations of various directions in its portfolio.
In April 2013, the owner sold it to the Guta group of companies, while the transaction amount was quite symbolic and was equal to 1 ruble. At the end of 2015, Red Wings CJSC, previously registered in Moscow, changed its registration address at the invitation of the head of the Ulyanovsk region and re-registered in Ulyanovsk. Boththe parties plan to extract the maximum benefits for themselves and are set for mutually beneficial cooperation.
The airline receives a guarantee to create a favorable tax and administrative regime for development, access to the Ulyanovsk airport for the development and implementation of new company routes and use it as a base, which also has its own maintenance system for aircraft of these types. The region, in turn, received a major taxpayer who will contribute to the development of the region and improve the quality of life of its residents, as well as participate in various significant projects in the economic and social spheres of the region's development.
Incidents
There is a black streak in the history of the air carrier. In December 2012, a Red Wings Airlines plane, after landing at Vnukovo Airport (Moscow), crashed into a fence, leaving the runway. There were no passengers on board, the flight was operated only to ferry the vessel from the Czech Republic to Moscow. In the middle there were only eight crew members, five of them died.
After this incident in February 2013, the Federal Air Transport Agency issued a decision to suspend the flight license. Thanks to the change of ownership and management, the company was able to eliminate all violations in April of the same year. And in June 2013, with the permission of a special commission, the air operator certificate for the performance of commercial transportation of people and goods was renewed.
Interesting facts
Red Wings Airlines from June 2009 to2010 was the official carrier of the Russian national football team. The national football team emblem with the inscription National Football Team was applied to the planes.
And since 2016, it has become the official carrier of the bandy world championship teams, which will be held in the same year. The company has developed a flexible pricing policy for the purchase of tickets so that as many fans of this sport from various regions of Russia and other countries as possible can visit and watch tournament battles. In addition, in 2008 and 2010, the airline was among the nominees for the "Airline of the Year - Charter Passenger Carrier", becoming the winner of the Wings of Russia national aviation award.
Aircraft fleet
The Red Wings airline differs from most carriers in that it has only Russian-made aircraft in its air fleet. Everything outside and inside is decorated in their signature colors: red and gray. Staff also wear uniforms in company colors.
Besides this, the Red Wings have their own magazine, which can be read on board. The company carries out its flights with modern liners called Sukhoi Superjet-100 (Sukhoi SuperJet 100 or SSJ100) and TU-204-100. The management plans to replenish the fleet with Russian-made aircraft: TU-204SM in 2016 and MS-21 in 2019.
Today, the number of aircraft operated by Red Wings is:
- Eight vessels TU-204-100.
- Five liners Sukhoi Superjet-100. At the same time, the airline's order for these aircraft is 15 aircraft, as evidenced by the signed preliminary agreement at the MAKS air show with the State Transport Leasing Company. The Red Wings plan to receive most of them already in 2016, that is, the fleet of Superjets will be replenished.
The airline pays great attention to training pilots to fly fundamentally new aircraft and constantly conducts training and briefings on the basis of Russian higher flight institutions.
Description of the fleet
TU-204-100 is a medium-haul passenger aircraft developed in the early 90s at the OKB im. A. N. Tupolev. Its capacity is from 176 to 210 people, depending on the specific modification of the aircraft. Flight range - up to 5 thousand kilometers.
The average age of these ships in the Red Wings park is about 7 years. The Sukhoi Superjet-100 is a new generation aircraft. They offer their passengers comfortable flights, have a high class of environmental safety. The business class cabin accommodates 8 seats, the economy class - 85. Flight range - up to 3 thousand km.
Flying destinations
Red Wings Airlines operates both charter and regular flights. The geography of flights extends not only to Russia: the carrier's ships also fly abroad.
The company's main or base airport is Domodedovo, located in Moscow. The airline also uses the airports of St. Petersburgand Simferopol as additional transfer and departure points. Regular flights operated year-round are carried out to many major cities in Russia: Krasnodar, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Makhachkala, Grozny, Omsk, Ufa, Kaliningrad, Rostov-on-Don, Chelyabinsk and others. The airline operates only seasonal flights to some Russian settlements: Kemerovo, Perm, Ulyanovsk, Samara.
It is best to find out about the schedule for the start of seasonal routes on the official website of the carrier. Abroad, Red Wings aircraft operate mainly charter flights, but there are also regular ones. With the beginning of the summer season, the route network includes regular flights to Tivat (Montenegro) and Verona (Italy). Charter flights operate to Barcelona (Spain), Antalya (Turkey) and Hurghada (Egypt).
Airline activities
According to the indicators of its flight activity, Red Wings is one of the 17 largest airlines in Russia. Over the past few years, the number of passengers carried has been steadily growing. So, according to the Federal Air Transport Agency, in 2009 the airline transported about 695 thousand passengers, in 2010 - already 180 thousand more. In subsequent years - 2011, 2012, 2013 - the number of people transported decreased: from 781 thousand in 2011 to 325 thousand in 2013. The decline in passenger traffic is due to the plane crash and the revocation of the flight certificate.
But already in 2014, the company increased significant volumes - over 919 thousand passengers, which raised Red Wings Airlines to 24th place among Russianair carriers. 2015 ended with over a million passengers carried. The airline's management plans to increase passenger traffic by expanding the route map, developing new and attractive programs for customers, promotions and special offers for purchasing tickets.
Red Wings Airlines Reviews
In social networks, on ticket sales sites, travel agencies, you can find a huge amount of comments about the condition of the aircraft, food and service on board, as well as flight delays, which were carried out by the Red Wings airline. Negative reviews, as a rule, relate to the internal equipment of aircraft. Often people complain about the old salon, uncomfortable chairs. Some do not like the rather simple meals on board and the frequent flight delays.
New and comfortable planes, friendly and polite attitude on board, simple but tasty food are noted as positive. Everyone chooses for themselves which airline to travel with, but in terms of price-quality ratio, Red Wings, whose airfare compares favorably with other Russian low-cost airlines, is the most attractive.
