Red Wings Airlines is an airline based in Vnukovo Airport, Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow, Russia. The airline provides both scheduled passenger and cargo charter services.
Video Red Wings Airlines
History
Red Wings was founded in 1999 under the name VARZ-400, after the Russian acronym of the Vnukovo Avia Repair Factory. It was renamed Airlines 400 in 2001, before adopting its current name in 2007.
The airline was owned by Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev, who wanted to create a discount airline using modern Russian Tupolev Tu-204-100B 210-passenger twin-jet airliners, both new-built and used. The company had a fleet of ten Tu-204-100Bs (an eleventh Tu-204 was written off after crashing at Moscow Vnukovo on 29 December 2012), and had also sought to acquire Airbus A320s and possibly Airbus A321s to complement its Tu-204 fleet.
Lebedev also owned 49% of German charter airline Blue Wings, which was to become Red Wings's sister company. However, on 13 January 2010, Blue Wings ceased all operations and filed for bankruptcy, citing the global financial crisis for a pull-out of investors.
After the December, 2012 Red Wings Flight 9268 crash in Vnukovo, Russian aviation authorities initiated an emergency check of airline operational activities and fleet maintenance, resulting in the revocation of the carrier's AOC effective on 4 February 2013. The airline had ceased all operations the day before and owner Alexander Lebedev announced that no return to operation was planned.
On 4 April 2013 NRC sold Red Wings Airlines Group "Guta" for a symbolic 1 ruble (in this case leased aircraft remained with the lessor - NRC-owned company "Ilyushin Finance"). The new owners of Red Wings plan to increase the fleet of 10-15 aircraft. The airline is going to buy only Russian aircraft. On 25 April 2013 it was announced that the airline Red Wings, was now headed by Sergey Belov, previously CEO of the airline "Russia." On 18 June 2013 the Federal Air Transport Agency renewed the certificate of the operator Red Wings to perform commercial transportation of passengers and cargo. On 22 June the airline resumed charter flights, and on 12 July 2013 scheduled flights from Moscow.
To increase business power, Red Wings and Nordavia decided to merge. The process already began, alas the date when the airlines will fully merged, and will they be separate or work under one airline, is still a question. This plan calls for the Airbus A320, which initially was ordered for Nordavia, to be delivered by Red Wings. The new brand name will be known, after finishing the merger procedure.
On 20 September 2018, it was announced that Red Wings will re-brand. The first aircraft to arrive with the updated livery, will be Airbus A321 and it will arrive by the end of 2018.
Maps Red Wings Airlines
Destinations
Currently Red Wings Airlines has only one codeshare agreement
- Nordavia
Fleet
The Red Wings fleet comprises the following aircraft as of August 2017:
Retired Fleet
- Ilyushin Il-76
- Tupolev Tu-154
- Tupolev Tu-214
- Sukhoi Superjet 100
Incidents and accidents
On 29 December 2012 at 16:35 local time (12:35 GMT), Red Wings Airlines Flight 9268, a Tupolev TU-204-100? (Registration: RA-64047, c/n: 1450743164047, s/n: 047, built: 2008) crashed on landing after overrunning runway 19 at Moscow Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) following a non-revenue repositioning flight originating from Pardubice Airport, Czech Republic. The aircraft broke up and came to a stop on elevated highway M3 about 400 meters/1,200 feet past the runway's end. There were eight crew members on board of whom five were killed and the other three seriously injured. The fatal Vnukovo accident was the second runway overrun incident involving a Red Wings operated TU-204-100B in nine days following a Moscow Vnukovo to Novosibirsk flight on 20 December 2012 that overran runway 25 at Tolmachevo Airport by 1,150 feet (350 meters) into an open field. Initial flight data recorder readouts indicate that brake failure as well as engine thrust reverser issues were major contributing causes in both overruns resulting in the issuance of additional airworthiness directives. Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) later determined that, as in the precursor non-fatal overrun incident in Novosibirsk, the fatal Moscow accident was caused by a failure of the compression switches in two of the three landing gear assemblies to close on touchdown thus causing the engine thrust reverser shells to fail to deploy.
References
External links
Media related to Red Wings Airlines at Wikimedia Commons
- Red Wings Official website
- Official website of Air 400 (Archive)
- Red Wings Airlines aircraft
Source of article : Wikipedia
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