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S7 Airlines

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S7 Airlines
IATA ICAO Call sign
S7 SBI SIBERIAN AIRLINES
FoundedMay 1957; 67 years ago (1957-05) (as Tolmachevsky squadron)
Commenced operationsMay 1992; 32 years ago (1992-05) (as Siberia Airlines)
Hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programS7 Priority
AllianceOneworld (suspended)
SubsidiariesS7 Training
Fleet size101
Destinations77[1]
Parent companyS7 AirSpace Corporation
HeadquartersOb, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia
Key peopleVadim Klebanov (General Director)
Employees3,000[2]
Websites7.ru

S7 Airlines, legal name JSC Siberia Airlines (Russian: АО «Авиакомпания "Сибирь"», "АО Aviakompania Sibir"), is an airline headquartered in Ob, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia,[3][4] with offices in Moscow.[5] As of 2008, it was Russia's largest domestic airline, with its main bases at Domodedovo International Airport and Tolmachevo Airport.[6] It is a member of the Oneworld alliance but its membership is currently suspended due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[7]

History

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Early years

[edit]
An S7 Airlines Ilyushin Il-86 (formerly operated by Vnukovo Airlines) at Dubai International Airport

What is now S7 Airlines started in 1957 as "the Tolmachevo united squadron" of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation of the Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union disintegration and during the 1990s Russian economic reforms, a state-run Siberia Airlines was created based on the squadron in 1992 and later privatized in 1994. The same year Siberia was assigned an IATA airline code.[8]

In 1997, Siberia Airlines tried to buy Vnukovo Airlines, to make Moscow its next main hub, but the purchase did not proceed. After the 1998 Russian financial crisis, Vnukovo Airlines was heading towards bankruptcy, and Siberia Airlines offered to merge the two airlines, but Vnukovo refused. In 1999, Siberia Airlines signed a document offering to take over Vnukovo Airlines, in the event Vnukovo ceased operations due to insolvency.[9]

Development 2000–2009

[edit]
S7 Airlines' previous logo, used from 2005 until 2015

Siberia Airlines began merging with Vnukovo Airlines in 2001.[citation needed] The same year, the airline absorbed Baikal Airlines and then in 2004, the airline absorbed Chelyabinsk Airlines and Enkor.[10]

Siberia Airlines acquired its first non-Russian aircraft, Airbus A310s, in 2004. In the summer of 2004, during the Farnborough Airshow, the company signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase fifty Sukhoi Superjet 100s, with the first to be delivered in 2007. However, the airline subsequently dropped its plans to order this aircraft, citing that the aircraft's changed specifications no longer met its requirements.[11]

Siberia Airlines rebranded itself as S7 Airlines in 2005.[8]

In line with an International Air Transport Association (IATA) resolution, from December 2006 the airline began to publish its fares for international destinations originating in Russia in euros, rather than US dollars. This resulted in a fare increase, as the conversion rate used was 1 euro = 1 US dollar. Fuel surcharges were also published in euros. Its domestic fares were still to be shown in the local currency.[12] Also in December 2006, the airline became the second Russian air carrier to complete, and pass, the IATA Operational Safety Audit, which is the first global air safety standard.[13]

In April 2007 S7 announced that it had set up a new division, called Globus, focused on charter flights for tourists to foreign holiday destinations. Initially, the aircraft for this division were drawn from the mainline fleet, but during 2010–2014, ten Boeing 737-800 aircraft were leased with an all-economy layout, with the option for a further ten aircraft.[14]

Development 2010–Covid

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S7 joined the Oneworld airline alliance in 2010.[15]

In November 2015, S7 Airlines offered to acquire a majority stake in the bankrupt Transaero; the proposal was subsequently rejected by shareholders.[16]

In 2016, the American band OK Go partnered with S7 to film a "zero-g" music video for their song "Upside Down & Inside Out", aboard a reduced gravity aircraft.[17][18]

On 28 August 2018, S7 would invest $192.87 million in a new manufacturing plant in Moscow, part of its Victory business plan.[citation needed] In December 2018, a few months after the completion of its purchase of Sea Launch[19] the parent holding company was renamed S7 AirSpace Corporation to reflect the transition from an aviation-only business.[20]

On 31 March 2019, chairwoman and co-owner Natalia Fileva died after the Epic LT private plane she was in crashed while landing at Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport.[21] In August 2019, S7 Airlines announced it was collecting donations for Siberian forests damaged by massive fires. The airline decided to use a hybrid-retro livery on one of its Airbus A320-200 to the hybrid-retro livery, underlining its previous name and current callsign: Siberia Airlines. The livery is a combination of one from 1992–2005 and one from 2017–today.[22] Also in August 2019, the airline announced that S7 Airlines and Globus Airlines would merge by December 2019, ending Globus' operations.[23] By early December 2019, the merger had been completed.[24]

Development 2022–present

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In February 2022, as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, S7 and other Russian airlines were banned from EU airspace and that of other countries.[25][26] This led to S7 suspending operations in Europe on 25 February 2022 and a suspension of all international flights by 5 March 2022.[27] The owner of aircraft leased to S7 Airlines, AerCap is seeking to repossess their aircraft.[28] In April 2022 S7 was suspended from Oneworld.[citation needed] In July 2022, S7 announced a halt to all plans for its new low-cost subsidiary Citrus due to the required aircraft not being delivered.[citation needed] The US Commerce Department, who had previously sanctioned US manufactured aircraft, extended sanctions to the European manufactured Airbus aircraft in S7's fleet in August 2022.[citation needed]

In September 2022, S7 reached an agreement to hand back its two leased Boeing 737 MAX to their lessor. The aircraft VQ-BGV and VQ-BGW, were transferred via a neutral country.[29] Air Lease Corporation are seeking to recover six Airbus A320s, two Airbus A321ceo, and five A321neo, as the lease payments are not being made.[citation needed]

October 2023 saw problems for S7, with spare parts for engines and the servicing of aircraft, as a result of sanctions, have reduced the number of Airbus aircraft that are operational to around 13, or 20%, of the Airbus fleet.[30]

In December 2023 an agreement was reached with AerCap, ALC, SMBC Aviation Capital and others to purchase 45 aircraft for around 45-50 billion rubles, with help from the Russian National Wealth Fund.[31]

In July 2024, Dmitry Yadrov, the head of Russia’s civil aviation regulator confirmed reports from S7 that they were "decommissioning" their A320Neo and A321Neo aircraft due to ongoing issues with the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines and international sanctions preventing regular maintenance of the engines [32]

Financial and operational performance

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There are financial and operational performance S7 Airlines starting from 2011:

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Passengers flown (millions) 5.128 6.351 7.085 7.938 8.207 9.509 9.948 11.552 13.059 12.349 17.831
— Domestic flights (millions) 3.548 4.010 4.385 5.093 5.526 6.673 6.881 7.146 8.173 11.303
— International flights (millions) 1.580 2.341 2.700 2.845 2.681 2.836 3.067 4.406 4.886 1.046
Load factor, % 75.6 80.1 80.9 80.0 80.3 85.2 85.3
Turnover (rubles, billion) 45,264 55,864 62,721 70,706 82,215 108,111 117,722
Net Profit (rubles, million) 734 546 702 868 923 2,896 4,432
Number of employees 2,507 2,711 2,672 2,752 2,571 2,878
Number of aircraft (at the end of the year) 38 43 45 45 46 62
Source [33] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38]

Destinations

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The cabin of a brand new S7 Airlines Airbus A320-200

As of November 2023, the airline serves 10 countries with 134 routes.[1][39]

Codeshare and interline agreements

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S7 has codeshare agreement with the following airlines:[40]

S7 has interline agreement with the following airlines:[43][44]

Fleet

[edit]

Current fleet

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An S7 Airlines Airbus A320 painted in the airline's revised livery
A Globus Airlines-operated S7 Airlines Boeing 737-800 painted in the Oneworld livery

As of September 2024, the S7 Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[45][46]

S7 Airlines fleet
Aircraft In
service
Orders Passengers Notes
B E Total
Airbus A319-100 2 144 144 To be retired.
Airbus A320-200 16 174 174 One painted in a hybrid-retro livery.[22]
Airbus A320neo 15 8 156 164 To be retired. [47]
Airbus A321-200 11 8 189 197
190 198
Boeing 737-800 17 8 168 176 One painted in the Oneworld livery.[45]
Embraer 170 14 78 78
Tupolev Tu-214 100 TBA TBA TBA Agreement for order.[48]
S7 Airlines Cargo fleet
Boeing 737-800BCF 2 Cargo
Total 77 100

Fleet development

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On 29 May 2007, the airline announced a proposed order for fifteen Boeing 787 Dreamliners scheduled for delivery in 2014, with an option for ten additional aircraft.[49] However, the order was officially cancelled on 29 January 2009, with S7 stating that it was considering the possibility of taking the aircraft under a leasing scheme.[50] As of November 2008, all Soviet-made aircraft had left the fleet.[citation needed]

In April 2018, S7 renewed interest in the Sukhoi Superjet by planning to purchase 25 Sukhoi Superjet 75 aircraft, with an option of 50 more for the new modification of the Superjet family, and become the launch customer. These will replace the airline's aging Embraer 170 aircraft. The airline plans to take deliveries of this aircraft from 2023.[51] However in September 2019, it was announced the project had been scrapped.[52]

In October 2018, the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 and became the Russian launch customer of the aircraft type.[53] In September 2022 the aircraft were returned to their lessor.

Retired fleet

[edit]

At different times, the S7 Airlines fleet has consisted of the following aircraft:[54]

S7 Airlines retired fleet
Aircraft Introduced Retired Replacement Notes
Airbus A310-200 2004 2010 Airbus A320 family
Boeing 737-800
Airbus A310-300 2004 2014 One crashed as Flight 778
Airbus A321neo 2018 2024 None
Antonov An-24 1992 2000 Boeing 737 Classic
Boeing 737-400 2006 2008 Boeing 737-800 Transferred to subsidiary Globus Airlines
Boeing 737-500 2005 2009
Boeing 737 MAX 8 2018 2022 None 11 ordered, only two delivered. Delivered aircraft acquired by Southwind Airlines and SCAT Airlines, remaining orders by Qatar Airways.[citation needed]
Boeing 767-300ER 2008 2017 Airbus A321neo
Tupolev Tu-154B-2 1992 2004 Boeing 737-500 One crashed as Flight 1047
Tupolev Tu-154M 1992 2009 Airbus A320 family
Boeing 737-800
One crashed as Flight 1812
Tupolev Tu-204-100 1992 2006 Airbus A310
Airbus A319

Incidents and accidents

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Subsidiaries

[edit]

S7 Technics is a subsidiary of S7, located on the grounds of Tolmachevo Airport.[61]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "S7 Airlines". ch-aviation.com. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Network and Operations - Marketing, Financial, Corporate". www.oneworld.com. oneworld Alliance, LLC. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Talk to Us." S7 Airlines. Retrieved on 21 June 2010. "Legal Department, S7 AIRLINES, Ob-2, Novosibirsk Region, 633102, Russia " Archived 7 September 2019
  4. ^ Головной офис Россия 633104 Обь-4 Новосибирская обл (in Russian). S7 Airlines. Archived from the original on 8 March 2005. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  5. ^ "Headquarters." S7 Airlines. Retrieved on 4 October 2009. Archived 2 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Russian airline growth slows from over 20% to under 5%; S7 extends lead over Aeroflot in domestic market". anna.aero. PPS Publications. 3 October 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  7. ^ "S7 Airlines «temporarily» leaves Oneworld alliance". AviacionOnline. 20 April 2022.
  8. ^ a b "О компании" [About company]. www.s7.ru (in Russian). S7 Airlines. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  9. ^ ""Внуковские авиалинии" не хотят в "Сибирь"". 11 August 1999. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  10. ^ Artem Fetisov On the Mend, 1 November 2006, Air Transport World (subscription required)
  11. ^ Flight Global, 7 February 2006
  12. ^ "IATA converts fares to euros" (Press release). S7 Airlines. 15 November 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  13. ^ "S7 Airlines Successfully Completed IATA Operational Safety Audit and was Awarded IOSA Certificate" (Press release). S7 Airlines. 2 October 2007. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  14. ^ "S7 Charter начнёт эксплуатацию самолётов нового поколения Boeing 737-800" [S7 Charter will begin operating of new generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft] (in Russian). S7 Airlines. 27 April 2007. Archived from the original on 29 May 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  15. ^ "Profile on S7 Airlines". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  16. ^ "S7's Filev fails in bid to acquire control of Transaero". ch-aviation. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  17. ^ Sage, Alyssa (11 February 2016). "Watch: OK Go Filmed a Music Video Entirely in Zero Gravity". Variety. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  18. ^ "Upside Down and Inside Out FAQ & Credits".
  19. ^ "S7 Group purchases Sea Launch". www.s7.ru. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  20. ^ "S7 GROUP СТАЛА АВИАЦИОННО-КОСМИЧЕСКОЙ КОРПОРАЦИЕЙ" [S7 Group is now an aviation-space corporation] (in Russian). 24 December 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  21. ^ "Co-owner of Russia's S7 airline dies in plane crash near Frankfurt". The Telegraph. 31 March 2019. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  22. ^ a b "S7 раскрасила самолёт в спецливрею" [S7 painted the plane in a special livery]. frequentflyers.ru (in Russian). 12 August 2019.
  23. ^ "S7 Group объединит авиакомпании "Сибирь" и "Глобус"" [S7 Group will unite Siberia and Globus airlines]. Adindex (in Russian). 26 August 2019.
  24. ^ "Globus Airlines on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  25. ^ "Ukraine invasion: More countries issue airspace ban on Russian planes". BBC News. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  26. ^ "The full list of new UK sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, from oligarchs to sovereign debt". i. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  27. ^ "Russia's S7 Airlines Cancels All Flights To Europe". Aviation Week. 25 February 2022.
  28. ^ "Western sanctions have stranded hundreds of airliners worth an estimated $12 billion". Business Insider. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  29. ^ "S7 Airlines gibt geleaste Boeing 737 MAX zurück" [S7 Airlines hands back leased Boeing 737 Max]. aero.de (in German). 13 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  30. ^ "S7 Airlines from Russia to reduce winter schedules due to lack of P&W engine spare parts". 12 October 2023.
  31. ^ "S7 Airlines reregisters 45 foreign aircraft to Russian ownership". 22 December 2023.
  32. ^ . 4 July 2024 https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/142062-russias-s7-airlines-to-decommission-neo-fleet-caa. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  33. ^ a b "ГОДОВОЙ ОТЧЁТ ОАО "Авиакомпания "Сибирь" за 2012 год" (PDF). s7.ru. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  34. ^ "ОАО "Авиакомпания "Сибирь" ГОДОВОЙ ОТЧЕТ ЗА 2013 ГОД" (PDF). s7.ru. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  35. ^ "ОАО "Авиакомпания «Сибирь" ГОДОВОЙ ОТЧЕТ ЗА 2014ГОД" (PDF). s7.ru. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  36. ^ "ПАО "Авиакомпания "Сибирь" ГОДОВОЙ ОТЧЕТ по результатам работы за 2015 год" (PDF). s7.ru. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  37. ^ "ПАО "Авиакомпания "Сибирь" Годовое общее собрание акционеров". ФИНАМ. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  38. ^ "ПАО "Авиакомпания "Сибирь" - "Годовое общее собрание акционеров"". ФИНАМ.
  39. ^ "Aeroflot Flights and Destinations - FlightConnections". www.flightconnections.com. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  40. ^ "Виртуальный международный альянс для S7 Airlines". Авиатранспортное обозрение (in Russian). 13 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  41. ^ "S7 Airlines Expands Azerbaijan Airlines Codeshare Service From late-Jan 2024". AeroRoutes. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  42. ^ "S7 Airlines Expands Azerbaijan Airlines Codeshare Service From mid-May 2024". AeroRoutes. 20 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  43. ^ "S7 Airlines расширяет маршрутную сеть международных направлений". www.s7.ru. S7 Airlines. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  44. ^ "S7 подтягивает партнёров — FrequentFlyers.ru" (in Russian). FrequentFlyers.ru. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  45. ^ a b "Our Fleet". S7 Airlines. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  46. ^ "ФОТО: S7 Airlines получила первый самолет Embraer E170". ato.ru. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  47. ^ . 4 July 2024 https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/142062-russias-s7-airlines-to-decommission-neo-fleet-caa. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  48. ^ "Авиакомпания S7 стала крупнейшим заказчиком самолетов Tу-214".
  49. ^ Announcement by Boeing of Dreamliner order Archived 13 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine 29 May 2007.
  50. ^ Zaitsev, Tom (29 January 2009). "S7 confirms 787 cancellations but considers lease instead". Flight Global. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  51. ^ "S7 до конца года может подписать твердый контракт на 50 SSJ 75". ato.ru. 26 April 2017.
  52. ^ "S7 owner: Russian industry has scrapped the Superjet 75 project". rusaviainsider.com. 4 September 2019.
  53. ^ Nick Wenzel (17 October 2018). "S7 Airlines takes delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX". International Flight Network. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  54. ^ "Sibir Airlines S7 Fleet". Airfleets aviation. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  55. ^ "Aircraft accident Tupolev 154M RA-85693 Adler, Russia [Black Sea]". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  56. ^ "Bomb traces in both Russian jets". news.bbc.co.uk. 29 August 2004. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  57. ^ Passenger plane crashes in Russia BBC News 9 July 2006
  58. ^ '150 dead' in Russian jet crash CNN, 8 July 2006
  59. ^ "Alexei Navalny: Two hours that saved Russian opposition leader's life". BBC News. 3 September 2020.
  60. ^ Ranter, Harro. "Serious incident Airbus A321-271N VQ-BGU, 02 Dec 2021". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  61. ^ "Sibir Technics." S7 Airlines. Retrieved on 21 June 2010. Archived 5 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
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