Red Wings, which operates only Russian-made aircraft, positions itself as a low-cost airline, that is, as a low-cost airline with flexible pricing for purchased tickets. In addition, low prices are kept due to the restriction on the weight of baggage.
Airline Information
Russian airline Red Wings was founded in 1999. Initially, it was called “Airline 400”. After a change of ownership and rebranding in 2007, the carrier changed its name to the existing one. Until 2013, its owner was the National Reserve Corporation, a Russian financial and industrial holding, which has in its portfolio shares of more than 100 organizations in various fields.
In April 2013, the owner sold it to the Guta group of companies, while the amount of the transaction was quite symbolic and amounted to 1 ruble. At the end of 2015, Red Wings CJSC, previously registered in Moscow, at the invitation of the head of the Ulyanovsk Region changed its registration address and re-registered in Ulyanovsk. Both parties plan to extract the maximum advantages for themselves and are set for mutually beneficial cooperation.
The airline receives a guarantee for the creation of a favorable tax and administrative regime for development, access to the Ulyanovsk airport for the development and implementation of new routes of the company and its use as a base, which also has its own technical service system for aircraft of these types. The region, in turn, received a major taxpayer, which 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
The history of the airline has its own black stripe. In December 2012, a Red Wings Airlines plane crashed into a fence after landing at Vnukovo Airport (Moscow), having left the runway. There were no passengers on board, the flight was carried out only for the transfer of the ship from the Czech Republic to Moscow. In the middle were only eight crew members, five of whom died.
After this incident, in February 2013, the Federal Air Transport Agency decided 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 operator’s certificate for the commercial transport of people and goods was renewed.
Interesting Facts
From June 2009 to 2010, Red Wings Airlines was the official carrier of the Russian national football team. The national emblem with the inscription National Football Team was applied to the aircraft.
And since 2016, she became the official carrier of the teams of the World Ice Hockey Championship, 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 as possible from various regions of Russia and other countries can visit and see tournament fights. In addition, in 2008 and 2010, the airline was one of the nominees for “Airline of the Year - Charter Passenger Carrier”, becoming a laureate of the Wings of Russia national aviation award.
Fleet
Red Wings Airlines differs from most carriers in that it has only Russian-made aircraft in its air fleet . Everything inside and out are decorated in their signature colors: red-gray. The staff also wears uniforms of company flowers.
In addition, Red Wings publishes its own magazine, which can be read on board. The company operates its flights with modern airliners under the name Sukhoi Superjet-100 (Sukhoi SuperJet 100 or SSJ100) and TU-204-100. The management plans to replenish the fleet with Russian-made aircraft as well: TU-204SM in 2016 and MS-21 in 2019.
To date, the number of aircraft operated by Red Wings is:
- Eight ships TU-204-100.
- Five airliners Sukhoi Superjet-100. At the same time, the airline’s order for these aircraft is 15 airplanes, as evidenced by the signed preliminary agreement at the MAKS air show with the State Transport Leasing Company. They plan to get most of them at Red Wings in 2016, that is, the Superjet park will be replenished.
The airline pays great attention to the preparation of pilots for the management of fundamentally new aircraft and constantly conducts training and briefings on the basis of Russian higher flight institutions.
Fleet description
TU-204-100 is a medium-range passenger aircraft, developed in the early 90's in 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 vessels in the Red Wings Park is about 7 years. 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 seats 8 seats, the economy class - 85. The flight range is up to 3 thousand km.
Flight directions
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 main, or base, airport of the company is Domodedovo, located in Moscow. The airline also uses the airports of St. Petersburg and Simferopol as additional transfer and departure points. Regular flights operated all year round are carried out in many large cities of 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 of seasonal routes on the official website of the carrier. Abroad, Red Wings airplanes carry out mainly charter flights, but there are also regular ones. With the start of the summer season, regular flights to Tivat (Montenegro) and Verona (Italy) are included in the route network . Charter flights are carried out 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 growing steadily. 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 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 Russian carriers. 2015 ended with the number of more than a million passengers carried. The airline's management plans to increase passenger traffic by expanding the route map, developing new and attractive programs, promotions and special offers for purchasing tickets for customers.
Red Wings Airlines: reviews
In social networks, on ticket sales sites, travel agencies, you can find a huge number of comments about the state of aircraft, food and service on board, as well as flight delays, which were carried out by Red Wings Airlines. Negative reviews, as a rule, relate to the internal equipment of aircraft. Often people complain about the old interior, uncomfortable chairs. Some do not like the fairly simple food on board and the frequent delay in departures.
Of the positive, new and comfortable planes, a friendly and polite attitude on board, simple but tasty food are noted. Everyone chooses for himself which airline to travel with, but in terms of price-quality ratio “Red Wings”, whose air tickets compare favorably with other Russian low-cost airlines, is the most attractive.