Vim Avia is a Russian airline based at Moscow Domodedovo Airport. Flight destinations are mainly Russian cities. During the season, Vim Avia operated flights to resort countries: Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Austria, Greece, Sri Lanka.
The Vim-Avia airline completed its operations in 2017.
Airline activities
Since 2007, the airline began to actively engage in both regular and charter flights. Due to regular flight delays, the Federal Air Transport Agency decided to limit the airline's flights by 25%.
From 2010 to 2011, Vim Avia very actively began to develop domestic passenger transportation. Flights to big cities Russia (Ekaterinburg, Khabarovsk, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Chita, Krasnodar and others) increased to twice a day. Thus, many new regular flights were opened, and the volume of traffic increased significantly.
In 2016, the airline continued to operate charter and regular flights both internally and international routes. Due to increasing flight delays, Vim Avia had to replenish its air fleet with newer aircraft.
In 2017, the first information about problems at the airline appeared: the delay of a large number of flights was associated with large debts for fuel materials. Refueling of vessels was stopped due to a lack of resources to continue operations. Also hanging over the sides is the threat of arrest for large debts for leasing aircraft.
History of creation
Vim Avia was founded in 2002. The fleet consisted of four aircraft, and flights were carried out mainly to Asian destinations. In 2004, the company significantly expanded its aircraft fleet and put into operation more than a dozen Boeings. Cost-effective and comfortable aircraft made it possible to begin flights to Europe. Two years later, 4 more aircraft were purchased, and the company became one of the largest air carriers in Russia. In 2014, the fleet was replenished with Airbus A319.
Company aircraft
How many aircraft are in the Vim Avia fleet? The fleet consisted of 28 aircraft. The oldest Boeing 767-300 is 26 years old, the youngest is the Airbus A319, it is 10 years old. Vim Avia's fleet of aircraft has an average age of 17.9 years.
4 aircraft
The airliners represent a shortened version of the Airbus A320 with an increased flight range. It is a narrow-body passenger jet with two engines. Quantity seats depends on the model and ranges from 124 to 156 people.
The airliner is capable of covering a distance of 6,900 kilometers without refueling. Final assembly takes place in the city of Hamburg in Germany.
The average age of the Airbus A319 aircraft in the Vim Avia fleet is 10.9 years.
Boeing 757-200. 7 sides
The Boeing 757 is a narrow-body passenger airliner for medium-range flights. This is the most common option. The board can accommodate from 200 to 235 passengers, depending on the individual configuration.
Flight range - 5500 kilometers. Production of the Boeing 757-200 ended in 2004, but the aircraft is still used by many airlines. A total of 1,050 units were produced.
The average age of Vim Avia's fleet of Boeing 757-200 aircraft is 25 years.
Boeing 737-500. 2 sides
This passenger airliner, which is considered the most common aircraft in the history of aviation. The Boeing 737-500 is a shortened version of the 737-300, with an increased range. Passenger capacity - 132 seats. Serial production ended in 1999. Maximum height flight - 11,300 kilometers The age of the Vim Avia aircraft is 19.5 and 25.4 years.
Boeing 767-300. 2 sides
The board is a wide-body airliner for medium and long-haul flights. This is the first airliner to be eligible for scheduled flights across the Atlantic.
The 767-300 is lengthened by 6.6 meters compared to the Boeing 767-200. The length of the aircraft is 55 meters. The flight range is 9,700 kilometers. The age of the vessels is 21.8 and 26.1 years.
Boeing 777-200. 10 sides
The Boeing 777-200 is a wide-body passenger aircraft for long-haul flights. Passenger capacity - from 300 to 550 people. This is one of the largest airliners with two engines, powerful gas turbine engines and six-wheeled landing gear.
777-200 is the first modification of the aircraft. Flight range with maximum load is 10,750-14,300 kilometers, cruising speed is 905 kilometers per hour.
The average age of the Boeing 777-200 used by Vim Avia is 18.4 years.
To ensure that the aircraft is in good technical condition, even after two decades of continuous operation, many strict rules and regulations have been developed that must be strictly followed! All aircraft systems are tested, and if the technicians have any questions, the plane will not be allowed to take off, but will be sent for more thorough diagnostics and repairs.
The VIM-Avia airline has officially stopped flying due to accumulated debts. The Federal Air Transport Agency has already seized two airliners in order to repay debts to creditors. There are a total of six aircraft in the carrier's fleet. “360” analyzed the company’s flight arsenal and also calculated their approximate cost.
The planes of VIM-Avia, which announced the cessation of charter flights on September 25, were arrested at airports in Turkey and Belgium for debts. The head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, Alexander Neradko, announced this while speaking in the State Duma.
It is now clear that the airline will not be able to fly out charter passengers on its own. Her planes were seized at Antalya and Dalaman airports for debts Republic of Turkey, as well as at Liege airport
Alexander Neradko.
The day before, the Federal Air Transport Agency estimated that the company owed creditors about seven billion rubles. Among VIM-Avia’s borrowers were six Russian banks, the leading of which is considered to be Zenit Bank, as well as Domodedovo Airport, where the airline’s aircraft were permanently based.
Flight set
Taking into account the arrested aircraft in Turkey and Belgium, VIM-Avia has six aircraft in its fleet. The company’s “flight kit” includes four aircraft from Boeing (models Boeing 777-300, 777-200, 767-300, 757-200) and two airliners from Airbus (models 319-111, 330-200), follows from the information on official website of the airline.
The company carried out the last update of the fleet in February 2017. Then VIM-Avia put into operation the Airbus A330-200 aircraft. It is noteworthy that at the stage of the company’s formation in the early 2000s, the air carrier had 12 aircraft on its balance sheet. The owner of VIM-Avia, Rashid Mursekaev, bought the entire dozen used aircraft from the Condor carrier, which is part of the German company Lufthansa. At the time of the transaction in 2003, the entrepreneur paid the Germans $160 million.
Now the market value of new Boeing aircraft in international markets ranges from 57 to 115 million dollars, depending on the modification, analysts from Expert magazine calculated. At the same time, Russian carriers are required to pay import duties and taxes after purchasing the aircraft. As a result, the final price of the aircraft rises to $81–163 million. Cars from Airbus in the end it will cost the owners much less - from 63 to 71 million dollars.
With simple calculations, it turns out that the cost of the VIM-Avia fleet can reach up to 550–600 million dollars. However, the price of the aircraft depends on the age of the aircraft and its condition. For example, a Boeing 737 aircraft that left the factory in 2014 can be purchased for $55 million.
However, companies usually lease aircraft ( long term rental object with the right of redemption - approx. "360"), and do not buy the airliner right away, aviation expert Dmitry Petrochenko said in a conversation with the editors of "360".
TO it is only possible to buy a plane without installments large companies with government support, so in most cases the board is leased. Meanwhile, VIM-Avia aircraft are considered popular on the market, so they are unlikely to sit in parking lots for long and will quickly find new owners
Dmitry Petrochenko.
Age is not a barrier
According to the analytical portal Planespotters, the average age of the VIM-Avia fleet is 19–21 years, and the newest aircraft in the air carrier’s arsenal turned eight years old this year. The age of an aircraft is not a critical indicator for the safety of air transportation; its technical condition and quality maintenance are much more important. “VIM-Avia’s aircraft, in particular the Boeing 777, underwent major repairs before entering the company’s balance sheet, so from a safety point of view the aircraft are flawless,” Petrochenko noted.
Despite the fact that the company's fleet was in working order, problems often occurred on VIM-Avia flights. Thus, in 2009, a Boeing VIM-Avia flying from the Spanish city of Alicante to Moscow was forced to make an emergency landing in Italy at Rimini airport due to a drop in engine oil pressure. In 2012, at the Chita airport, due to a crack in the windshield, he committed emergency landing plane flying from Omsk to Vladivostok. The VIM-Avia airliner was on the verge of disaster in 2012. Then the Boeing 757, flying from Yekaterinburg to Hanoi, not only made an emergency landing at Novosibirsk airport due to engine failure, but was also five seconds away from colliding with a Boeing 747 cargo plane owned by Cathay Pacific.
September 26, 2018 The Arbitration Court of Tatarstan declared VIM-Avia LLC bankrupt. A bankruptcy procedure was introduced against the debtor.
Since 2002, VIM Airlines has been successfully operating. Initially, the company positioned itself as a charter and seasonal carrier. The share of regular flights was about 30%.
However, in recent years, the company’s development vector has shifted to the plane of regular passenger transportation. This was due to the development of the company and new successful gains in the civil aviation market. In 2012, the share of charter flights was 20%.
Vim Airlines is assigned to Moscow Domodedovo Airport. As a main destination, it serves as a base for flights to more than 30 countries. The main cities are Yekaterinburg, Sochi, Alicante, Rimini, Barcelona, Thessaloniki, etc. Mainly, destinations are resorts in Russia, Europe and Asia.
You are here: Airlines / Russian Airlines / VIM Avia
VIM Avia aircraft
As of July 25, 2017, VIM Airlines has 28 aircraft in its fleet. The average age of the airliners is 19 years.
The oldest Boeing 767-300 (tail number VP-BVI) is 26.3 years old. The youngest Airbus A319-100 (tail number VQ-BTK) is 9.5 years old.
February 23rd, 2017February 17, 2017 airline VIM-AVIA launched its new long-haul aircraft A330-200, which received tail number VP-BDV. The ceremony took place on the platform of Domodedovo International Airport. This airliner became the first representative of Airbus among VIM-AVIA long-haul aircraft. This event became the next stage of the program to expand the route network and modernize the airline’s fleet. By the end of this year, the air carrier plans to put into operation five more aircraft A330.
1.
The ceremony began with a symbolic handover of the aircraft model from the regional director for business development of Airbus in Russia and Belarus, Vadim Marusov, to the general director of VIM-AVIA, Alexander Kochnev.
2.
After that, we approached the plane, where a red ribbon was stretched across the ramp.
3.
The CEO cut the ribbon to the sound of camera shutters.
4.
The real highlight of the event were the flight attendants of VIM-AVIA airline.
5.
A little about the plane itself. This A330-200 made its maiden flight on May 12, 2003. In July of the same year, it was transferred to the leasing company GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), which entered into an agreement with the Taiwanese airline EVA Air, which began flying the aircraft in July 2003. In January 2007, the leasing company RBS Aviation Capital became the owner of the aircraft, and EVA Air continued to operate this aircraft until January 2012. After this, the plane was stored for several years. The leasing company RBS Aviation Capital was bought by a Japanese concern and changed its name to SMBC Aviation Capital, becoming the third largest aviation leasing company in the world. It was from this company that VIM-AVIA leased this aircraft.
6.
Last summer in Dublin the plane was repainted in the colors of VIM-AVIA. And he arrived in Russia only in December.
7.
Although I have flown the A330 many times, this was the first time I was able to walk around it from all sides and look at it in detail.
8.
The nose gear well shields have a red area marked “NO TOW.” This is a visual limiter for tug drivers. The maximum rotation angle of the A330 nose landing gear is 72° in each direction. And if, when towing, the axis of the strut coincides with the front edge of the red zone on the shield, then this is the maximum angle of rotation and further rotation of the strut can damage it. To turn the A330-200 180° without going down, it requires a 42-meter-wide taxiway. And for the A330-300 modification, the taxiway width should be 47 meters.
9.
The main landing gear has four-wheel bogies. Their use requires a special method of transmitting the braking torques of the wheels to the rack. This helps prevent the load on the front wheels from increasing and the rear wheels from unloading when braking. In simple words, when the cart brakes, the rear wheels can lift. This will cause uneven wear on the front and rear wheels and reduced braking performance. To eliminate this effect, the brake housing for each wheel is mounted movably on the trolley axle, and to prevent it from rotating during braking, brake rods are used, which transmit braking torques directly to the stand without loading the trolley. These rods can be seen below between the wheels. They extend from each brake housing and are attached to the post itself under the cart frame. Thanks to them, during braking, the wheels are loaded and wear evenly.
10.
Here you can clearly see how the rods between the wheels under the trolley frame are attached to the brake housing, keeping them from rotating. The brakes themselves are disc. They are widely used in aviation due to their compactness and high energy intensity. Plus, they do not require precise concentric alignment of the wheel and brake housing.
11.
It is difficult to imagine the force that the main landing gear perceives at the moment of touching the runway during landing. When the entire weight of the plane with its passengers and luggage rests on two pillars.
12.
The aircraft is equipped with two General Electric CF6-80E1 turbofan engines. The red line marked on the bottom of the engine indicates the edge of the safe zone. That is, it is dangerous to be in front of this line when the engine is running.
13.
Each engine can develop a thrust of 32,600 kgf. For comparison, the engine thrust of the Su-27 fighter is 12,500 kgf, and that of the MiG-29 is 8,300 kgf.
14.
A330 aircraft can be equipped with engines from three different companies. These are General Electric's CF6-80E1, Pratt & Whitney's PW4000 and Rolls-Royce's Trent 700. They are quite easy to distinguish by appearance. Rolls-Royce has a smooth “step-free” engine nacelle. General Electric has a “step” and a cone at the end of the motor. Pratt & Whitney also has a “step”, but the cone at the end of the engine is not visible.
15.
16.
And a couple of beautiful shots with VIM-AVIA flight attendants.
17.
18.
A few words about the airline itself. VIM-AVIA was founded in October 2002. The letters VIM in the name are the initials of the first general director - Viktor Ivanovich Merkulov. The airline's core business consists of regular and charter passenger transportation from Moscow and regional Russian centers to cities in Russia, Central Asia and Europe. The base airport is international Airport Domodedovo.
19.
VIM-AVIA (or VIM Airlines) is one of the TOP 10 Russian airlines in terms of passenger traffic. In 2016, more than 2,070,000 passengers were transported. Now the share of regular flights is more than 90%.
20.
The airline's fleet is quite diverse. It consists of 4 A319 aircraft, 2 Boeing 737-500, 5 Boeing 757-200, 1 Boeing 767-300ER, 5 Boeing 777-200ER and a new A330-200.
21.
I never thought that on all Airbus aircraft, except the latest A350 and A380, the auxiliary power unit (APU) air intake is located below the fuselage. And only the A350 and A380 have an APU air intake on top near the base of the fin. Most likely, this is due to the companies supplying the APU themselves.
22.
It's time to board, where the beautiful flight attendants always greet us first.
23.
The aircraft has a two-class cabin layout and is capable of carrying 252 passengers. 24 in business class and 228 in economy.
24.
In economy class, the seats are installed in a 2+4+2 configuration.
25.
26.
27.
28.
The passage width is 483 mm.
29.
At the end of the salon there are several chairs with a closing curtain. These seats can be used for replacement crew resting during the flight.
30.
At the end is the kitchen.
31.
Business class has a 2+2+2 seat arrangement.
32.
The aircraft has 6 emergency exits, through which two people can be evacuated at a time, and 2 exits behind the wing, through which evacuation is carried out one at a time.
33.
A little thing that I always pay attention to is a small mirror on the ceiling of the luggage rack. I’m short myself, and when I take out my jacket during a flight, it’s difficult for me to look on the shelf to check if I’ve forgotten anything. This mirror always helps me.
34.
It's time to look into the cockpit. I was very happy about this opportunity, since it is simply impossible for an ordinary passenger to get here on a flight. I was very pleased to meet and communicate with the pilots. Tigran flies for VIM-AVIA as a co-pilot.
35.
Anton flies as a captain at VIM-AVIA airline.
36.
The A330's cabin is comfortable. Pilots have a 135° view from the longitudinal axis of the aircraft in their direction. But what pilots love most is this folding table.
37.
A few photos of the cabin.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
I would like to say a huge thank you to the VIM-AVIA flight attendants who posed for us under the camera flashes for so long.
44.
45.
Good luck and have a nice flight.
46.
I would like to wish the pilots clear skies and soft landings.
47.
48.
49.
Thank you very much to the organizers for inviting and hosting this interesting event.
TASS DOSSIER. On September 25, 2017, it became known that the Federal Air Transport Agency initiated an unscheduled inspection of the VIM-Avia airline, which had recently delayed dozens of flights.
On September 24, the Russian newspaper Vedomosti, citing Aliya Samigullina, press secretary of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, reported that the air carrier had asked the authorities to provide state guarantees for loans.
VIM-Avia Airlines LLC is a Russian passenger air carrier.
Story
The founder of VIM-Avia was Honored Pilot of the Russian Federation Viktor Ivanovich Merkulov (the name VIM is made up of his initials). In the 1990s, he was one of the managers at the Volga-Dnepr transport airline. In 1997, he founded his own company, Aerofreight, which was engaged in charter cargo and passenger transportation; V different time it operated aircraft Tu-134, Tu-154, Tu-20, Il-62M, Il-76, An-12 and others.
On August 30, 2003, Aerofreight lost its operator's certificate due to a number of violations: flight delays, transportation of contraband, carrying out cargo flights under the guise of passenger ones. Also in June 2003, during an inspection, it turned out that Aerofreight’s Tu-154B-2 flew from the UAE to Astrakhan with 10 tons exceeding the maximum landing weight.
In 2002, Merkulov registered the VIM-Avia company, which received an operator certificate on November 27, 2003 and began operating cargo and passenger flights on the Il-62M and An-12.
At the beginning of 2004, Merkulov sold 75% of the shares of VIM-Avia to the spouses Rashid and Svetlana Mursekaev, remaining president of the company (he held the post until his death in 2006).
The Mursekaevs purchased for the company from Condor (Germany) and American Trans Air (USA) 16 passenger aircraft Boeing 757s produced in the 1990s. The transaction amount was about $85 million. In addition, the aviation assets of Center Capital - Chita Avia, as well as the airports of Chita and Bratsk were included in VIM-Avia.
The airline began operating charter flights to Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Italy and Spain using Boeing 757 aircraft. Until 2014, she specialized in charter flights, in October 2004, regular flights from Moscow to Bratsk and Chita started. Already in 2006, VIM-Avia entered the top ten Russian companies by passenger flow. In 2007, airports were sold from its composition as non-core assets. At the same time, the VIM-Avia holding was created, which included the airlines RusAir, Bashkortostan and Russian Sky - all of them stopped flying in 2012-2015.
On November 8, 2011, the Federal Air Transport Agency introduced restrictions to the operator's certificate of VIM-Avia, prohibiting it from flying to Europe. The reason was the incident on November 3, 2011, when Russian pilots in Paris had a skirmish with airport staff. This could be a reason for adding the airline to the EU “black list”. The restriction was lifted at the end of June 2012.
In 2014, VIM-Avia abandoned its charter specialization, the share of passenger traffic domestic flights reached 90%. In the same year, the airline began operating Airbus aircraft A319 and Boeing 767. In July 2015, Boeing 737 and 777 entered the VIM-Avia fleet.
In 2015, the media began reporting on the carrier's financial problems. In January-February 2015, claims for its bankruptcy were filed by VTB Bank, Sberbank and others legal entities, however, the courts stopped proceedings on most of the claims in the summer of 2015. The company spent the 2016 season without major difficulties; the airline seriously increased transportation between the European part of Russia and airports in China. Also in the spring of 2016, the company changed its registration address from Moscow to the urban village of Bogatye Saby in the Sabinsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan. In April 2017, VIM-Avia acquired 100% of the shares of the airport in Bratsk (Irkutsk region).
The media began reporting problems with VIM-Avia again in the summer of 2017: on some days the airline canceled or delayed up to 20 flights for a long time. More than 200 thousand of its passengers were transported by other companies. In mid-September 2017, it became known about VIM-Avia’s large debt to Domodedovo Airport and fuel suppliers. On September 21, VIM-Avia turned to the government asking for support in repaying loans. The company itself said that problems with debt repayment were caused by the “traditional seasonal recession.” On September 23, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation stated that VIM Avia sold tickets for some of the canceled flights, knowing that the flight was impossible. A pre-investigation investigation was launched into this fact.
Park, main hubs and directions
As of September 2017, the VIM-Avia fleet includes 23 aircraft: 12 Boeing 777 (leased in 2015-2017), four each Airbus A319 and Boeing 757, two Airbus A330 and one Boeing 767. Average age aircraft - 19 years. In July 2017, the company signed an agreement to lease 15 new Russian MS-21 aircraft.
The base airport is Domodedovo, Moscow air hub. The secondary hub is St. Petersburg. In total, the company serves about 50 regular destinations.
Indicators
In 2015, VIM-Avia transported about 1 million 613 thousand people. The airline operated 11 thousand 414 flights, of which 10 thousand 520 were regular (more than 90%).
In January-August 2017, VIM-Avia transported 1 million 834 thousand passengers (10th place among Russian airlines, an increase of 31% compared to the same period in 2016), the average percentage of passenger seats occupied was 76.1% . The airline ranks 11th in the Russian Federation for cargo and mail transportation (11.7 thousand tons).
The airline's revenue in 2016 amounted to 17 billion 174 million rubles. (an increase of 38% compared to 2015), net profit - 89.1 million rubles. (decrease by 5.7 times).
Management
The general director of the company is Alexander Kochnev.
Owners
Svetlana Mursekaeva is the owner of 99% of the shares of VIM-Avia, her husband Rashid owns 1%.
