Smartavia

Last updated
Smartavia
Smartavia logo.svg
Smartavia, VQ-BBW, Boeing 737-86N (49567047722).jpg
IATA ICAO Call sign
5NAULARCHANGELSK AIR
Founded
  • 1963 (as a squadron)
    1991 (as an Independent Airlines )
    2019 (as Smartavia)
Hubs
Fleet size15
Destinations50
Parent company Sky Invest [1]
Headquarters Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation
Website flysmartavia.com

Smartavia, formerly known as Nordavia (until March 2019), is a Russian low-cost airline with its head office in Arkhangelsk, Russia. [2] It mainly operates scheduled domestic and regional services. Its main bases are Arkhangelsk Airport, Pulkovo Airport (Saint Petersburg), and Sheremetyevo International Airport, serving Moscow. [3] Smartavia is a joint-stock company.

Contents

History

Aeroflot-Nord logo, 2004-2009 Aeroflot Nord logo.png
Aeroflot-Nord logo, 2004-2009
Nordavia logo, 2009-2019 Nordavia logo.svg
Nordavia logo, 2009–2019
A Smartavia Boeing 737-500 in the former livery, operated by the former brand Aeroflot-Nord Boeing 737-500 VP-BRG.jpg
A Smartavia Boeing 737-500 in the former livery, operated by the former brand Aeroflot-Nord

The airline was formed in 1963 as Arkhangelsk United Aviation Squadron (Russian : Архангельский объединенный авиационный отряд) and became AVL Arkhangelsk Airlines (Архангельские воздушные линии) in 1991.

Under Aeroflot

In August 2004, Aeroflot acquired 51% of the airline, with the rest being held by Aviainvest. The company was renamed Aeroflot-Nord, becoming Aeroflot's second regional airline. [4]

When the contract with Aeroflot ended on 1 December 2009, the airline operated independently as Nordavia. [5] Because of the bad press the subsidiary received following the Aeroflot Flight 821 disaster, and Russian aviation officials' 15 July 2009 imposition of restrictions (including a ban on international charter tours) on then Aeroflot-Nord flight operations due to insufficient security and bad finances, Aeroflot distanced itself from Nordavia. [6]

Partnership with NordStar

In June 2011, Aeroflot sold the airline to Norilsk Nickel for a US$235 million, but it only costed net $7 million, due to assumption of company's debt. [7] On December 1, 2011, Norilsk Nickel reported that Nordavia was to be merged in Taimyr Air Company. [8] However, the Federal Antimonopoly Service blocked the merger of Nordavia with Taimyr Air Company, and Nordavia was ultimately sold to Sergey Kuznetsov, the owner of Red Wings Airlines, in March 2016. [9]

Partnership with Red Wings Airlines

To increase business power, Red Wings Airlines and Nordavia decided to merge. [10] In April 2017, under Red Wings' ownership, it was announced that the airline would change its name to SmartAvia from Q3 2017. In addition to the new brand, the airline planned to also introduce a new livery, still in Nordavia's colors (blue, orange, gray) but with a design that moves away from its Aeroflot ancestry. [11] The new branding was planned to debut on the airline's Airbus A320-200 aircraft, however these aircraft were instead delivered to Red Wings after the airline decided to continue using its Boeing 737 aircraft, accepting its first Boeing 737-700 in May 2018, by then still retaining its Nordavia name and brand identity. [12] [13] On 20 March 2019, it was announced that the merging of Nordavia with Red Wings airlines was canceled. [14]

Restructuring to Smartavia

Following the cancellation, the airline was re-branded to Smartavia. The first aircraft of the new livery arrived in April 2019, with all existing getting replaced by the end of the year. [15] By 2021, the airline had retired all of its Boeing 737-500 s, and in April 2021, the airline began their replacement with new Airbus A320neo s, officially completing the re-branding into Smartavia and announcing itself as a low-cost carrier. [16]

On 28 May 2021, during a press conference held in Kaliningrad, with the presentation of new Airbus A320neos previously operated by Mexican carrier Interjet, the airline announced a massive order expansion of 40 new Airbus aircraft and plans to phase out all Boeing 737 aircraft by 2023 and only operate Airbus aircraft from then on. If the plan were to succeed, the airline was to purchase Airbus A321neo s by 2024. [17]

On 16 September 2021, the airline announced its base expansion plans: by spring 2022, the airline planned to open its new hub at Moscow-Sheremetyevo, as well as to open bases in Kaliningrad, Murmansk, Samara and Sochi. [18]

Destinations

Codeshare agreements

Smartavia Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Fleet

A Smartavia Airbus A320neo SmartAvia, VP-BOS, Airbus A320-251N (51265505595).jpg
A Smartavia Airbus A320neo

As of September 2024, the Smartavia fleet consists of the following aircraft: [20]

Smartavia fleet
AircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengersNotes
CYTotal
Airbus A320neo 2 [16] [17] 180180 [21]
Boeing 737-700 2142142
Boeing 737-800 8189189The first aircraft to wear SmartAvia livery. [22] [23]
Total12

Historical fleet

An Aeroflot-Nord Tupolev Tu-134A Aeroflot-Nord Tu-134A.jpg
An Aeroflot-Nord Tupolev Tu-134A

Smartavia has previously operated the following aircraft: [24] [25]

Smartavia historical fleet
AircraftIntroducedRetiredNotes
Antonov An-24 19912008
Boeing 737-300 20082012Was transferred to NordStar in 2012
Boeing 737-500 20062020Replaced by first Airbus A320neo order, one crashed as Flight 821
Tupolev Tu-134A 19912008Replaced by Boeing 737-500
Tupolev Tu-154B-2 19912009Replaced by Boeing 737-500

Accidents and incidents

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References

  1. "Норникель" продал 100% акций авиакомпании "Нордавиа" ["Norilsk Nickel" has sold 100% of shares of "Nordavia" airlines] (in Russian).
  2. "Contact Us Archived 2010-06-11 at the Wayback Machine ." Smartavia. Retrieved on 29 June 2010. "Legal address: Russian Federation, 163053, Arkhangelsk, Talagi Airport." – "Контакты Archived 2010-06-29 at the Wayback Machine ." Address in Russian: "163053, г. Архангельск, Аэропорт "Архангельск"."
  3. "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International . 2007-04-03. p. 47.
  4. Flight International 27 March 2007
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  6. "Aeroflot-Nord in trouble". BarentsObserver. 2009-07-17. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
  7. https://www.vedomosti.ru/management/articles/2011/11/11/oleg-vetvinskij-vozglavil-nordavia
  8. "Aviaport digest, Dec. 1st, 2011" (in Russian). Aviaport.ru. 2011-01-12. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  9. "Norilsk Nickel sold Nordavia". Vedomosti (in Russian). 18 March 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  10. "Авиакомпании Red Wings и "Нордавиа" объединятся". ato.ru. 16 October 2017.
  11. "News Russia's Nordavia confirms rebrand as SmartAvia, new livery". ch-aviation. ch-aviation GmbH. 26 April 2017.
  12. "Russia's Nordavia's first aircraft addition in nine years". Russian Aviation Insider. WordPress. 16 May 2018.
  13. "Russia's Nordavia adds maiden B737-700, eyes -800s". ch-aviation. ch-aviation GmbH. 16 May 2018.
  14. "Red Wings и Smartavia не будут объединяться в единую компанию". Prime (in Russian). 20 March 2019.
  15. "Nordavia to rebrand as Smartavia in 2019". CAPA Centre for Aviation. 21 March 2019.
  16. 1 2 "Smartavia войдет в лето с 15 воздушными судами, три из которых Airbus A320neo". ATO. 17 April 2021.
  17. 1 2 "Smartavia приобретет 40 новых самолетов Airbus A320neo и станет лоукостером". ATO.ru. 28 May 2021.
  18. "Smartavia планирует начать полеты из Шереметьево в марте - апреле 2022 года". Tass. 16 September 2021.
  19. Liu, Jim (10 May 2019). "Red Wings expands Nordavia codeshares in S19". Routesonline. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  20. "Air fleet | Nordavia". www.nordavia.ru. Archived from the original on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
  21. "Авиакомпания Smartavia получила первый из трех самолетов A320neo в этом году". Aviation EXplorer. 16 April 2021.
  22. "ФОТО: Smartavia получила первый самолет Boeing 737-800". ato.ru. 8 April 2019.
  23. "Nordavia receives second B737-700 and is to sign for four -800s".
  24. ЗАО «Аэрофлот-Норд» приобрело авиакомпанию «Архангельские воздушные линии» aeroflot.ru. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  25. История авиакомпании vk.com. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
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  27. "Accident Boeing 737-505 VP-BKO". ASN Flight Safety Network. Retrieved December 12, 2024.

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