There is an opinion that dilapidated, obsolete, but large aircraft are served for charter flights. Is it so? Let's try to consider the problem on the example of the airline "Katekavia". The aircraft fleet, year of manufacture, service at the airport and on board, conditions in the cabin - all this will be the topic of our article.
What is Katekavia and what is the name of the carrier now
At the moment, the airline has a more euphonious name - Azur Air. So it has become known since December 2014. But you should not consider Azur Air as a new, untested carrier. Previously, flights were carried out by the Katekavia company, whose fleet of aircraft was small and far from new. But the flights of this company carried out short. Basically, they covered only the Volga and Siberian federal districts.
Based "Katekavia" in the capital's airport "Domodedovo". In 2012, UTair, a major airline, bought out a quarter of all the shares of a small regional firm. After 12 months in her hands was already75 percent of the total authorized capital is concentrated. In 2014, the former Katekavia became known as Azur Air and acted as a subsidiary of UTair. But a year later the company became independent. In February 2016, she passed the tests of the Federal Air Transport Agency and was allowed to operate international scheduled flights.
Katekavia Airlines: aircraft fleet
Of course, all these ups and downs with buying and selling shares, renaming a legal entity and obtaining a license should not worry the average passenger. He is interested in other things. For example, what kind of air fleet does the company have? How dilapidated are her planes? What are the amenities on board? And, of course, are the flights of this company often delayed? What about incidents? Have there been any accidents in the history of Katekavia? The aircraft fleet of the company with this name, after its re-registration as Azur Air, was completely transferred to the Turukhan carrier. In the memory of "Katekavia" there were accidents and forced landings due to a malfunction of the machines. But since Azur Air performed its first flight in December 2014 from Moscow to Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt), nothing like this has happened again. This flight was carried out on the company's first Boeing 757-200.
Flight directions
In less than three years, Azur Air has grown from a small regional firm into a major carrier. If in 2011 Katekavia, whose fleet was small, served only one hundred and fifteen and a halfthousand passengers, in 2015 their number was more than two million. Previously, the company had one base hub - Domodedovo. Now Azur Air has several native airports: Yemelyanovo (Krasnoyarsk), Pulkovo (St. Petersburg), Khrabrovo (Kaliningrad) and Rostov-on-Don.
The company's flight map has expanded significantly. Azur Air delivers passengers to Morocco (Agadir), Thailand (Bangkok and Phuket), Spain (Barcelona, Mallorca and Tenerife), Bulgaria (Burgas and Varna), Tunisia (Djerba and Enfidha), Greece (Heraklion and Rhodes), Vietnam (Nha Trang), Cyprus (Larnaca), Dominican Republic (Punta Cana), Cuba (Varadero) and China (Sanya). In addition, the airline flies from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Chelyabinsk and Kazan to Sochi.
Anex Tour and its role in the development of the airline
From the direction of flights, it can be seen that Azur Air specializes in transporting passengers to famous resorts in the world. Many airlines provide their aircraft to tour operators for charter flights. The entry into the large Turkish holding Anex Tourism Group made it possible to renew the aircraft fleet of Azur Air (formerly Katekavia). Charters have one feature. They must be roomy in order to carry as many passengers as possible and thereby reduce the cost of the flight. On the other hand, they should be as comfortable as possible. After all, people go on vacation and want the vacation to begin with boarding the liner. Therefore, Azur Air makes sure that its air fleet meets the requirements of the Anex Tour tour operator. Thus, tourism specializationfirms most directly affected the quality of the liners. They are not only roomy, but also comfortable and relatively new.
Marks of aircraft and their age
You will no longer meet the old An-24 and Tu-134, which were in the hangars of "Katekavia". The fleet of planes, now on average (according to April 2017) is nineteen and a half years old, has changed beyond recognition. The transformation of "Katekavia" into "Azur Air" was the incident that occurred in November 2014. Then an old Tu-134 froze to the runway at Igarka airport. And the passengers were forced to push him to budge. The filmed video has long been the subject of jokes over the entire Russian air fleet by ill-wishers. Therefore, the air park is a “big callus” of the management of Azur Air. It makes sure that all aircraft are of high quality and comfortable for passengers. Boeings have become a brand of choice since the airline's first flight to Sharm El Sheikh.
Characteristics of the Katekavia liners
Fleet of aircraft has nineteen cars. All of them, as already mentioned, belong to the Boeing family. If we talk about types, Azur Air (formerly Katekavia) prefers the 767-300 E R brands. The airline has eight of them. These are huge liners that can accommodate up to 336 people. The airline's fleet also includes eight Boeing 757-200s. They are smaller - 238seats - but just as comfortable and reliable.
The airline recently acquired three Boeing 737-800s. They are even smaller. Their capacity is 189 people. The colors of Azur Air aircraft are discreet, but memorable. The white liner has a blue tail with a red ribbon. The oldest aircraft in the fleet is only twenty-six years old. This is a Boeing 767-300 with tail number VP-BUX. And the youngest airliner - "Boeing 757-200" (tail number VQ-BEY) - is only fourteen years old.
Traveler reviews of Azur Air liners
Tourist (charter) specialization of the airline made it one of the leaders in Russia. The company serves more than two million passengers a year. Therefore, many tourists leave reviews about the amenities provided on board their ships by the airline "Katekavia". The aircraft fleet of the modern Azur Air consists of comfortable Boeing family aircraft. The 767-300 brand is used for medium and long haul flights. Despite the fact that three hundred passengers can fit into the cabin when fully loaded, there is no feeling of crowding. The aisle between the seats and the distance between the rows of seats are sufficient for every traveler to feel comfortable during the flight. "Boeings" have good sound insulation, so that the roar of the engines is almost inaudible. The cabin of the liners has compartments for traveling business and comfort classes. A few words should be said about flight safety. According to the German audit company Jacdec, AzurAir" is included in the list of the best airlines in this parameter.
