Domestic air carriers live hard and intense lives. The fate of many of them is not easy and even tragic. So, Domodedovo Airlines built their way for a long time, went uphill, but it all ended rather sadly.
Origination
In the 1960s, the formation of civil aviation continued in the USSR. Soviet designers create civil aircraft that are not inferior in their characteristics to Western competitors. ANs, Tu and ILs fly over the sky of the USSR. The emergence of new aircraft requires the creation of airlines and airports. In 1960, the idea of building an airport in Domodedovo near Moscow and opening an air carrier based on it was born. Thus, in 1964, the Domodedovo Production Association of Civil Aviation was born. The company is conceived as the largest player in the domestic transportation market and the most modern air group in the country. On March 25, 1964, her board makes its first official flight from Moscow to Sverdlovsk.
Sovietperiod
The base of the new association of civil aviation was 206, 211, 212 flight units from Vnukovo. Aircraft and teams ensured the implementation of long-haul flights. For thirty years in a row, the future Domodedovo Airlines was the largest air carrier in the USSR. Along with Aeroflot, the Domodedovo detachment carried out a huge amount of domestic and foreign transportation. On average, the airline carried more than 70 million passengers per year. The squadron was constantly replenished with new aircraft and developed quite productively until the very end of the USSR.
Rebuild Time
In 1992, Leonid Sergeev became the head of the airline, it was on his shoulders that the difficult changes of perestroika fell. In 1998, the Domodedovo airlines open joint stock company, in which 51% of the shares belong to the state, becomes the legitimate successor of the Domodedovo Civil Aviation Production Association. The government of the country transfers to the society the fleet of aircraft, production facilities and engines of the former squadron. In total, about two thousand people go to work at the new enterprise. The leadership was very grateful to the progenitor. In honor of the founding fathers, the original numbers have been preserved behind the squadrons. So, squad 206 is already over 55 years old.
The management of Domodedovo Airlines continued the traditions of the Civil Aviation Aviation Department, which were distinguished by a reasonable personnel and production policy. This made it possible to maintain a high-class team even in difficult perestroika times. The air carrier has always treated with careaccumulated experience, which allowed it to become one of the most stable and safe airlines not only in Russia, but also in the world over several decades of its existence. For all the years, Domodedovo Airlines has not had a single plane crash.
Privatization in the 1990s not only gave the airline independence, but also turned its home airport, Domodedovo, into an independent enterprise. Then such a development of events was a natural course of development of the industry, but later it will become a difficulty for the air carrier.
However, in general, the post-Soviet period was very successful for the company. It develops the aircraft fleet and expands the flight map, and trains highly qualified specialists. Three times, Domodedovo Airlines was awarded the prestigious Russian Wings of Russia award, in 1999, 2000 and 2001 - as the airline of the year, which had more than 1 billion pkm of domestic flights.
Alliance
In 2004, the air carrier attracted the attention of large entrepreneurs - the Abramovich brothers, they bought up 49% of the shares through their KrasAir airline and come up with a proposal to reorganize Domodedovo Airlines. In the same year, Domodedovo Airlines entered into partnership agreements with KrasAir, Omskavia, Sibaviatrans and Samara. This is how the alliance of Russian aviation enterprises AiRUnion appears. Consolidation allowed companies to consolidate the aircraft fleet and expand the mapflights, increasing the number of passengers. The alliance continued to maintain a state presence in the company, but it was reduced to 45%. In 2007, AiRUnion is listed as a strategic enterprise in the country.
In 2005, the company opened its website, where you can directly buy plane tickets.
Flight directions
At the dawn of its formation, the Domodedovo Air Squad was focused on domestic transportation, the company had to satisfy the growing needs of citizens to move around the vast country. But gradually the geography of coverage is growing, the company is entering the international level.
By 2008, Domodedovo Airlines, whose flight destinations are only growing, cover all of Europe, Asia and Africa. Regular and charter flights have been established with the Far East, the cities of Siberia and the south of the country, neighboring countries, as well as Spain, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Portugal, in total, the alliance flew to more than twenty countries.
Aircraft Fleet
At the dawn of its creation, Domodedovo Airlines was equipped with the most modern aircraft at that time:
- Tu-114. The famous Soviet aircraft for long-haul flights. Service was offered in two classes: the first - triple compartments, the second - salons with rows of seats. The aircraft was a record holder of its time: it is the fastest and largest turboprop in the world.
- Tu-154. Soviet long-lived aircraft, it has been in operation for more than40 years. This is the most massive jet-powered aircraft in the Soviet Union, it served until the end of the 20th century, then it was massively withdrawn from service.
- IL-62. The most popular and successful was the IL-62 model, Domodedovo Airlines was one of the first to start operating this intercontinental Soviet aircraft with a jet engine and parted ways with it only in the 90s.
- IL-96-300. The famous Soviet wide-body aircraft for long-haul transportation. It was on this model that famous flights were made, for example, "Moscow - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky - Moscow".
In the late 90s, the air carrier planned to modernize and replace the fleet of aircraft with more modern machines, but the plans were not destined to materialize.
Home airport
Domodedovo Airlines was originally created to operate at the airport of the same name, which was opened two years earlier. The airport has always been distinguished by the fact that it has grown rapidly and modernized. Domodedovo was created to serve primarily domestic flights, but by the 90s, international destinations had their place in the form of a new hall.
In 1992, Domodedovo received the official status of an international airport. After the restructuring, the enterprise becomes private, the period of real prosperity begins. At the end of the 20th century, the widest modernization and reconstruction of the facility was carried out, this significantly increased the throughput, and already in 2003 Domodedovo was namedthe largest among hundreds of airports in the world.
Today, Domodedovo is a modern complex, in terms of workload it ranks twentieth in Europe and third in Russia. In 2006, the airport administration undergoes a rigorous audit and signs a security protocol with the US and Europe. Domodedovo has two runways. The first one has a unique coating for Russia. In 2008, an automatic baggage sorting line was put into operation at the airport, which significantly accelerated the process of passenger service.
In 2011 Domodedovo passenger traffic exceeded 25 million people.
Domodedovo celebrated its 50th anniversary without a partner and satellite, Domodedovo Airlines, which contributed a lot to the development and development of the airport in its time.
Code of Flight Attendants
For large airlines, the level of service for which flight attendants are responsible is extremely important, and Domodedovo Airlines is no exception. Flight attendants, whose photos can decorate any glossy magazine, are the pride of the airline.
Flight attendants of Domodedovo Airlines were dressed in yellow-sand suits with vests and jackets and white blouses, a scarf in the same color was tied around the neck. The code of flight attendants stated that their mission is to ensure the comfort of the passenger during the flight. And they implemented it with honor - goodwill, caring and friendliness always reigned on Domodedovo Airlines flights.
End of story
The crisis of 2008 hit AiRUnion hard, by August of this year the total debt of the alliance's airlines amounted to $1 billion. This is how the economic crisis and the sharp increase in fuel prices affected the company. Since July, salary delays for employees began. On August 20, 2008, mass delays and cancellations of the air carrier's flights began, the company filed a lawsuit for bankruptcy. In February 2009, the air carrier's license to operate was cancelled. The last director of the company was Sergey Yanovoy.
In February 2009, this OJSC ceased to operate. Domodedovo Airlines ceased to exist. She didn't make it to her 50th birthday for just a year.
