The issue of flight safety is one of the most pressing questions that, one way or another, all travelers ask. Regardless of the distance, any tourist wants the hours and minutes spent in the sky to be as calm and comfortable as possible.
Often, the choice of the airline that operates the flight completely influences all these factors. Every year, international companies compile airline ratings that reflect the entire work of the carrier and its main indicator for passengers - safety.
The Vipgeo portal presents the safest airlines in Russia and the world, according to international ratings and authoritative publications.
Important: The list of airlines was compiled based on the rating of the European Aviation Safety Agency - EASA. There are several other similar agencies in the world, and their data may differ slightly.
Safe airlines in Russia
According to European agencies, in 2019 the airline was recognized as the safest carrier registered in Russia. It was assigned the highest rating of 0.24 points, based on the calculation - the closer to one, the more dangerous the flights by this carrier.
The rating is compiled based on checking the general condition of the aircraft, punctuality and compliance with standards according to documents and international law. As for plane crashes, since 1993, the residents of the Urals have not had a single incident with human casualties.
"S7"
In second place in terms of safety is the largest air carrier beyond the Urals " S7", formerly known as the Siberia company. The Siberians have an older fleet of aircraft; most often the company operates 15-20 year old Airbuses and Boeings on regular flights. However, the technical condition of the aircraft has never caused any complaints from international commissions.
The company's worst plane crashes occurred in the early 2000s, when a total of more than 300 people died. Since then, the “S7” level of transportation safety has met all international standards, and precedents, except for two emergency landings, was not recorded.
As for the largest and oldest airline in Russia - "" - today there is the most controversy. On the one hand, they have the most impressive budget and allow them to regularly update their aircraft fleet. But on the other hand, a series of disasters in the 90s seriously damaged the reputation of the once transportation giant. Therefore, now - only third place and 0.38 points.
But the main thing that is worth saying about Aeroflot is that the company is the only Russian carrier that is consistently included in international ratings. True, the same JACDEC agency in 2019 placed Aeroflot only in 36th place in the list of the safest airlines in the world.
The company "" registered in Khanty-Mansiysk today is one of the most popular carriers in the country, with dozens of domestic and international destinations.
Interestingly, the company’s fleet is based on new medium-capacity aircraft of the ATR brand, which makes the carrier a kind of leader in short regional flights.
UTair has had plane crashes, but the last major incident happened in 2014 with an MI-8 cargo helicopter. Passenger aircraft fly without incident.
Safest airlines in the world
The rating of the safest air carriers in the world in 2019 was deservedly topped by the company registered in Hong Kong. It has been on the market since 1946, and over the past three decades the only accident associated with its aircraft was a hard landing. passenger airliner, flying from Indonesia.
Today, Cathay Pacific Airways serves dozens of countries, including all Southeast Asia, Europe, USA and Russia. Recently, the company even launched a Russian-language website with the ability to book tickets.
Despite the incidents of 2017, carriers United Arab Emirates continue to rank second in the ranking of the safest airlines in the world. And the company "" is considered the best of the best. They annually renew their fleet of ships, and also regularly improve the quality of service for passengers - from economy class to first class.
For Russian tourists the Emirates company is important at least because it cooperates with S7, organizing in Dubai and Abu Dhabi connecting flights to Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Maldives. In addition, in 10 Russian cities there is the possibility of direct charter flights by planes of this company.
"EVAAir"
Third place in the ranking of the safest airlines is occupied by another Chinese carrier - “ EVAAir" It began work in 1989, and over the years of its existence has not allowed a single plane crash with human casualties. The only precedents were associated with a hard landing in the United States.
Unfortunately, Russian travelers can use the services of this airline only at Asian airports.
"QatarAirways"
And fourth place, according to the airline safety ratings of 2019, was firmly occupied by Middle Eastern aircraft from the company "". The carrier is based in Doha and serves 160 destinations around the world. Since 1993, the company has only had two incidents, but both resulted in no casualties.
The carrier has a huge fleet of Boeings and Airbuses. What is attractive for Russian tourists is that Qatari planes regularly fly through Moscow, St. Petersburg and Voronezh.
Are low-cost airlines as dangerous as they say?
Recently, due to increasing reports of low-cost airline crashes, many tourists have begun to abandon low-cost carriers, sincerely believing that companies intend to skimp on safety for the sake of the number of tickets sold. But how true is this?
Tourists with great experience flights on low-cost airlines claim that rumors and speculation are nothing more than exaggerations. Yes, there are problems with low-cost airlines, but the key cause of disasters, as elsewhere, is the human factor. References to supposedly old planes of our Pobeda and other cheap companies are falsifications. Discussants who have doubts are referred to the official websites of the carrier.
If we take the issue seriously, the main problem of low-cost airlines is the lack of proper comfort during the flight, but not the safety of passengers. If you choose cheap flight, you need to know what you are saving on. If you are afraid, you have a direct route to the box office. major airlines.
The history of Russian aviation goes back more than a hundred years. During this time, many airlines, both public and private, were created. In Russia, there are both low-cost airlines, the so-called low-cost airlines, and carriers performing scheduled and cargo transportation.
The pioneer in civil transportation is the air carrier Deruluft; it was an airline for transporting passengers, cargo, and mail. The company was founded in 1921. The company carried out the first flight to Königsberg, and later to Berlin. This is the very first official civil aviation carrier in Russia. Then many more new airlines appeared. The list of them was great. Later, the first major state air carrier, Aeroflot, appeared in the USSR, which still operates many international flights today.
Nowadays it is difficult to imagine a better, faster and more reliable method of transportation than air transport. This is not the cheapest, but it is the most popular method for travel, business trips and cargo transportation.
Today, the airline registry in the Russian Federation includes more than 100 carriers. Some are over 50 years old. It’s difficult to answer unequivocally which airline is better in Russia; every travel lover has their own. However, ratings compiled among Russian carriers can help you make the right choice.
Aeroflot is the leader in transportation.
Largest Russian airlines
List of airlines by number of passengers carried
In 2017, the number of passengers transported by Russian carriers exceeded 100 million people per year. This number is almost 20% higher than last year.
The rating of Russian airlines is headed by Aeroflot. If we take into account all subsidiary airlines, such as Pobeda, Rossiya, Aurora, then together they transported a little more than 50 million people. This is almost half of all passengers air transportation countries.
Rossiya airlines, the list of which is extensive, are presented by the number of passengers transported according to data from the Federal Air Transport Agency.
- Aeroflot. Transported 33 million passengers per year.
The increase in passenger traffic was 13.3%.
The airline is based at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport. It was founded in 1923, and is one of the oldest not only in the Russian Federation, but also in the world. Has a 4-star award from the famous company Skytrax. Part of the SkyTeam alliance. It has a fleet of 233 aircraft, most of which are Airbus A320 and A321.
- "Russia". 11.1 million people per year.
The increase in the number of passengers transported was more than 37% compared to the previous year.
It is a subsidiary carrier of the Aeroflot group of companies. Began its activities in 1992. Based at St. Petersburg Pulkovo Airport and Moscow Vnukovo Airport. The fleet size is 64 vessels, the majority being Airbus A319s. The average age of the fleet is 13 years. The cost of the air ticket is in the middle price segment.
- S7 Airlines. 9.9 million people transported.
The number of passengers transported over 12 months increased by 4.6%.
A private Russian carrier company, the airline's aircraft made its first flight in 1992. The base is located in Novosibirsk and operates flights from Tolmachevo Airport. In total, it has 89 aircraft, the most common being the Boeing 737 and Embraer E 170. The average age of the fleet is 10 years. Since 2010, it has been a member of the Oneworld alliance.
- « Ural Airlines». 8 million people in 12 months.
The increase in passenger traffic was 24%.
Since 1993 it has been providing regular and charter flights. The representative office is located in Yekaterinburg, the main hub is Koltsovo Airport. It owns 45 aircraft, half of which are Airbus A320s. It is not a member of any alliance, but has a large number of agreements with various global airlines.
- "UTair". 7.3 million people per year.
The company increased the number of people transported by 10%.
Part of the UTair group, it has a fleet of airplanes and helicopters for transporting passengers and cargo. Began operations in 1991. The office is in Surgut, the main hub is located at Vnukovo Airport, Moscow. The fleet consists of 65 aircraft and 151 helicopters. Operates flights to 64 destinations. The fleet is based on Boeing 737 vessels and Mi helicopters of various modifications.
- "Victory". 4.6 million people in a year.
The number of people transported increased by 7%.
Founded in 2014, Russian airline based at Moscow Vnukovo Airport. It was created to replace Dobrolet, which came under sanctions due to flights to Simferopol. Owns 18 ships flying to 25 destinations. The entire fleet consists of Boeing 737s, in modification 800. Not included in alliances.
Air carrier Pobeda. Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
- "Globe". 4.3 million passengers in 12 months.
Passenger traffic increased by 18.5%.
The company belongs to the S7 group. Start date - 2008. The headquarters is located in the city of Ob, the main hub is Domodedovo Airport. It operates 19 Boeing 737 aircraft and flies to more than 20 destinations.
- Azur Air. Carried 3.7 million passengers over the past 12 months.
The growth in the number of clients was 59.9%.
The airline cooperates with the tour operator Anex and transports passengers for tourism purposes. The carrier's aircraft first took to the skies in 2014. Owns a park of 21 units. Most of them are Boeing 757 models. In 2015, the company split from UTair and now operates independently.
- "Nord Wind Air". 3.5 million people
Height passenger transportation equal to 98%.
The most progressive airline in terms of transporting the largest number of people, growth was almost 100% compared to the previous year. It was created in 2008. The fleet of aircraft is 24 units. Based at Sheremetyevo Airport. The average age of the fleet is 9 years.
- "VIM-Avia". Transported 2.1 million passengers per year.
Increase in the number of clients by 3%.
The carrier began operating in 2003. Based at Domodedovo Airport. It has 20 vessels at its disposal, most of which are Boeing 777.
Airbus A319 from VIM-Avia.
- "Yamal". 1.7 million people
Increase in the number of passengers by 23%.
Founded in 1997, the airline is located in Salekhard. It has 32 ships flying to 42 destinations. The fleet consists mainly of Sukhoi Superjet 100 and Bombardier CRJ200. The aircraft are on average 11 years old.
- Red Wings. 1.6 million passengers
Influx of traffic by 75%.
The airline was founded in 1999. Located at Domodedovo Airport. The aviation fleet includes 14 aircraft. The main ones are Airbus A319 and A320. Average age of the fleet - 11.5 years old. He also owns Russian-made Tu-204 aircraft.
- "Aurora". 1.5 million people
Increase in the number of people by 12%.
Part of the Aeroflot group. Created in 2013. Based in Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, it operates flights mainly to Asian countries. The fleet includes 24 vehicles, mainly Airbus A319. The average age of aircraft is 12 years.
- Royal Flight. 1.5 million people
The influx of people is 50%.
Located in Moscow, established in 1992. The company mainly performs charter flights to popular tourist cities. The fleet consists of 11 aircraft.
- Nordstar. Carried 1.4 million passengers.
Air travel growth increased by 9%.
A subsidiary of the Norilsk Nickel group was founded in 2008. Located in Moscow, it operates flights from Domodedovo Airport. Owns 15 aircraft, most of which are Boeing 737s.
The best airlines in Russia in terms of quality of service
Aeroflot occupies the highest position in the list for a large number of indicators, including quality of service, among Russian airlines. The company has four stars out of five possible. Next on the list are S7 Airlines, Russia and UTair. There are no particular complaints about the quality of these carriers; it is at a good level.
The safest airlines in Russia 2018
Based on the research results, an airline safety rating was compiled.
The main criteria by which the assessment was made were the number of accidents and catastrophes, the general condition of the aircraft fleet and compliance with European safety standards. The research was conducted among the world's largest carriers. Based on the results, points were awarded, the closer to zero - the safer the flights with the chosen carrier. The list includes four Russian airlines.
- The highest place among those represented in the Russian Federation was taken by Ural Airlines. They received a rating of 0.24 points;
- S7 took second position due to the high age of the aircraft fleet; the aircraft are already approaching 20 years old;
- Aeroflot scored 0.38 points and took third place among Russian carriers. The company's reputation was slightly damaged by several disasters in the 90s;
- UTair took fourth position on the list.
Rating of state air carriers in Russia
To the list of state aviation companies Russian Federation includes Aeroflot and its subsidiaries: Pobeda, Rossiya, Aurora. The group of companies ranks first in the overall ranking in terms of the number of passengers transported. Aeroflot received a four-star award from Skytrax for quality of service, service on board and at airports.
Aeroflot office in London on Piccadilly Street.
List of the best charter airlines
- Travelers respond best to a charter carrier called I-Fly. Although it has a fleet of only four aircraft, its quality of service and punctuality are especially noted;
- Royal Flight has also been noted by customers as a suitable choice when traveling. We are especially pleased with the wide geography of flights: almost 40 destinations around the world. Works closely with the tour operator Coral Travel;
- Azur Air working with tour operator Anex. It has more than 20 aircraft and a wide geography of flights around the world.
The vast number of airlines in Russia allows you to travel to almost anywhere globe for any purpose, from business trips to tourist flights to the most Famous places. There are offers on the market to suit every budget. Low-cost carriers are becoming increasingly popular, allowing you to travel on a low budget. Passenger traffic is growing every year, which provides an incentive for carriers to develop both in terms of expanding their fleet and flight geography, and improving the quality of service. Russian aviation companies rank high in safety lists and service quality ratings.
The ever-increasing level of aviation safety brings benefits to the aviation industry every year. Back in the period from 1982 to 1991, according to the report of the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), the flight safety index of the Soviet Union was 0.08. In the CIS countries it reached 0.1 and a little better in the USA – 0.02. The indicator was taken as the ratio of the number of accidents per 100 thousand flight hours.
Careful analysis of the causes of tragedies and flight safety management have brought air travel to a level of passenger confidence. Figures published by IATA in 2014 showed that there was 1 accident per 4.4 million flights.
According to the World Fund, from January 2019 to December 2020, more than 20 air accidents were recorded, resulting in more than 700 deaths. It is indicated that only civil aircraft with a capacity of more than 14 seats.
In order to keep passengers constantly updated on air travel events, ICAO presented its project - Electronic library final reports. The portal was developed for the purpose of conducting safety lessons. Using it, you can search by incident dates and view the commission's report.
Over the entire history of air travel, only two airlines can boast of a zero percentage of accidents over the past 50 years. This is the Australian company Quantas - operating since 1922, and the Finnish Finnair - since 1923. According to JACDEC, a total of 22 global airlines are registered, during the existence of which no serious accidents have occurred.
Every year, the German company JACDEC publishes its own airline safety rating. Its results come from a thorough analysis of accidents on board aircraft. The measure by which the rating is built is the flight safety index. New airlines are assigned a default value of 0. An index of 0.001 is considered a good number without fatalities.
It is important to note that the JACDEC accident database is limited to 30 years. Incidents that occurred during exercises, cargo transportation, or testing are not taken into account. Only flights with passengers on board are taken into account. 60 of the world's largest companies take part in the security analysis.
So, we present the 20 airline leaders in flight safety for 2019-2020.
| Place in the list | Airline | A country | Safety index |
| 1 | Cathay Pacific Airway | China, Hong Kong | 0,006 |
| 2 | Emirates | UAE | 0,007 |
| 3 | Eva Air | Taiwan | 0,008 |
| 4 | Qatar Airways | Qatar | 0,009 |
| 5 | Hainan Airlines | China | 0,01 |
| 6 | KLM | Netherlands | 0,01 |
| 7 | Air New Zealand | New Zealand | 0,011 |
| 8 | Etihad Airways | UAE | 0,013 |
| 9 | Japan Airlines | Japan | 0,015 |
| 10 | TAP Portugal | Portugal | 0,015 |
| 11 | Jetblue Airways | USA | 0,016 |
| 12 | Lufthansa | Germany | 0,016 |
| 13 | Qantas | Australia | 0,016 |
| 14 | Virgin Atlantic Airways | Great Britain | 0,017 |
| 15 | All Nippon Airways | Japan | 0,018 |
| 16 | Air Canada | Canada | 0,018 |
| 17 | Delta Air Lines | USA | 0,018 |
| 18 | British Airways | Great Britain | 0,024 |
| 19 | Sichuan Airlines | China | 0,025 |
| 20 | Air Berlin | Germany | 0,025 |
In 2019, the Australian Qantas did not enter the top ten, and ended up in 13th position. And the Japanese company Japan Airlines improved its results from last year and rose from 44th place to 9th.
Russian airlines are again not included in the top 20 for safety. Aeroflot-Russian moved up only one position (35th place). And Transaero Airlines did not participate in the JACDEC analysis at all.
An expert view from Switzerland
According to experts from the Swiss agency ATRA, relying on a historical summary of aircraft accident rates is not entirely correct. In fact, any air transport is subject to external factors and it happens that the chances of survival of passengers largely depend on the qualifications of the pilot. Therefore, one of the criteria for calculating the safety factor of the ATRA rating is the level of training of pilots and controllers.
After a lengthy analysis of air incidents and accidents, ATRA has identified 15 main flight safety criteria:
- Financial position of the company;
- Passenger seat occupancy rate;
- Number of employees on board and pilots;
- Total aircraft kilometre;
- Number of vessels in operation and out of production;
- Average age of operational aircraft;
- Constituent air fleet (Airbus or Boeing);
- Number of aircraft at risk;
- Number of accidents over the past 10 years.
Calculation data is based on information from the International Association air transport(IATA) and aerospace magazine Flight Global.
For its consideration, ATRA selected 94 of the largest airlines by financial income. Of these, the first in the ranking and the most reliable were Asian Air China, China Southern Airlines Group, American - AMR Corporation, Delta Air Line, Southwest Airlines, United Continental Holdings, US Airways Group, European - Air France KLM Group and International Airlines Group (2014 statistics).
European SAFA program
In 2004, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) introduced its criterion for assessing reliability - the SAFA coefficient. Unlike replicated public ratings, on this moment SAFA is considered the most reliable indicator of reliability. It was recognized by all world aviation experts. SAFA is a kind of final assessment of the International Operational Safety Audit (IOSA)
It is worth noting that in order to obtain an IOSA certificate, a company must pass a test of more than 1000 points of flight safety requirements.
The essence of assigning a coefficient is a random check foreign aircraft landing in the EU by inspectors of the European Commission. It is impossible to predict when the inspection will take place. The aircraft undergoes a thorough 54-point inspection for technical condition, age of the aircraft and documentation. The SAFA coefficient is derived from the ship's shortcomings.
Subsequently, if the inspected aircraft of one airline accumulate a certain number of penalty points, then the company itself is included in the EU blacklist. In this way, flight safety over EU territory is continuously managed and improved.
Unfortunately, SAFA experts keep their conclusions private. One thing is known: the higher the company’s coefficient, the lower its reliability. The critical threshold is considered to be a coefficient of 1.95. Airlines that have received such a mark enter the red zone and come under close and regular monitoring by the European Commission.
Russian companies that have been audited following EASA certification have provided their safety ratings.
Flight safety. Documentary
Aircraft from Ural Airlines, Siberia Airlines, and Aeroflot received values below 0.4.
0.4-0.5 – UTair, Globus;
0.5-0.8 – “Yamal”, “Red Wings”, “Orenburg Airlines”, “Aeroflot-Nord”, “ North wind»;
0.8 – 0.9 – “Donavia”, “GTC Russia”;
1.08 – “Transaero”;
1.25 – “Sky Express”.
The companies Vladivostok-Avia, Bashkortostan, and Dagestan Airlines have approached the threshold of the “red zone”.
TOP budget flight safety companies from the aviation portal Airline Ratings
The portal is assessed using a seven-star system. Each star is assigned for certain indicators, such as the number and nature of incidents, the quality of staff and service.
449 airlines take part in the rating. Once the stars are assigned, Airline Ratings ranks the best and worst carriers. The resulting list of the safest companies in the world is not much different from the opinion of the German JACDEC and other experts.
But the top budget companies (low-cost airlines) will definitely please future passengers. So, we present to you the winners of the nomination:
The top unsafe carriers in 2020 included companies from Indonesia, Nepal and Suriname. They received 1 or 0 stars:
| Batik Air | Srivijaya Air |
| Bluewing Airlines | Trans Nusa |
| Citilink | Trigana Air Service |
| Kal-Star Aviation | Wings Air |
| Lion Air | Xpres Air |
Most aircraft flying in Russia are no older than their counterparts used abroad. However, 17.7% of the aircraft fleet are old aircraft, many of which have reached the end of their service life and have problems with parts. Another disadvantage of the domestic market is problems with service and supervision, which is why almost the entire Russian fleet is registered in third countries
Photo: Transport-Photo Images
Became the biggest disaster in history Russian aviation. The day after the tragedy of the Kogalymavia (Metrojet) Airbus 321, which killed 224 people, Russian investigators opened two criminal cases under the articles “provision of services that do not meet safety requirements” and “violation of flight safety rules or preparation for them.” . Searches took place at the carrier's office, Domodedovo, and Samara airport, where the plane was refueling. State Duma deputies immediately came out in favor of banning the operation of aircraft over 15 years old (Airbus Kogalymavia was 18 years old) and revoking the licenses of carrier companies with a small number of aircraft. The head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Alexei Pushkov, said that it leads to plane crashes. Deputies put forward similar initiatives after the crash of a 23-year-old Boeing 737 in Kazan on October 17, 2013. Then, as now, the public ignored statements from airlines and industry experts who argued that an airplane is not a machine and 20 years of operation is not such a long time for it.
Both planes - Boeing in Kazan and Airbus over Sinai - according to the latest data, were operational. The Kazan disaster, as the commission of inquiry decided, was an Egyptian one - three weeks later it was recognized as a terrorist attack. Suspicions about the poor condition of aircraft flying in Russia, however, have not evaporated. RBC analyzed the fleet of Russian companies operating scheduled and charter passenger flights and found out whether suspicions about its wear and tear were justified.
What we thought
The basis was the list of valid airworthiness certificates of the Federal Air Transport Agency as of October 22, 2015 (that is, aircraft that are allowed to fly in Russia), data from the official websites of carriers and Internet resources airfleets.com, russianplanes.net and flightradar24.com. We excluded from full list small aviation(private jets), local airlines (practical range less than 1000 km, mainly An-2), helicopters, business jets, as well as all aircraft not used for passenger transport - for example, cargo and agricultural. The sample also did not include aircraft that are not used to transport passengers for commercial purposes: for example, the fleet of the Air Force, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the special detachment for transporting top officials (SLO Rossiya), as well as aircraft belonging to aircraft manufacturing plants. The lists we received with detailed information about each aircraft were sent to all operating airlines with a request to confirm the accuracy of the data we collected. All responses were taken into account in the analysis results.
Our statistics also included aircraft from the second largest Russian airline, Transaero. was accepted on October 1, and on October 26 the company lost its air operator certificate and ceased operations. The Transaero fleet is in the process of being returned to the lessors: several dozen cars can be received by Aeroflot, which received part of the airline’s routes, the rest will be sold on the market or written off. Taking into account the entire Transaero fleet in the sample (according to open data as of October, this is 122 aircraft), we were guided by the fact that most of it could go to other Russian operators, and the composition of the fleet reflects the economic model of the largest private Russian carrier.
What will happen to the huge fleet of Transaero, the second carrier after Aeroflot in terms of the number of aircraft (one of them is in the photo), is still unclear (Photo: TASS)
Which models do you choose?
The most popular family in Russia is the medium-haul Airbus 320 (A320, A319 and A321): 249 such aircraft are allowed to fly in the country. In second place with 203 aircraft is the family of medium-haul Boeing 737, the flights of which were recently asked to be suspended by the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC).
According to our data, there are only 130 long-haul aircraft in Russia, of which 76.6% are Boeing 747, 767 and 777 models.
There is no definition of a medium-haul aircraft in Russian legislation. In the world, it is customary to classify vehicles with a flight range of over 2.5 thousand km into this category. Long-range vehicles in Russia are considered to be those with a flight range of more than 8 thousand km.
Airbus became the leader among aircraft flying on medium-haul routes in Russia not so long ago. The Big Four companies - Aeroflot, S7, UTair, Transaero - divided their preferences in two in 2013, explains Andrei Kramarenko, a researcher at the Institute of Transport Economics and Transport Policy at the Higher School of Economics. The first two chose Airbus, the second - Boeing. Now Transaero has stopped flying, and UTair has significantly reduced its fleet.
Two competing aircraft makers account for most of the world's aircraft fleets. According to the international organization Center for Aviation (CAPA, Australia) for April 2013, of all aircraft operated in the world, 39.7% are Boeing aircraft and 28.7% are Airbus. Russia is no exception. The aircraft of the two companies occupy 61.7% of the Russian fleet, 14.3% - other foreign aircraft (Embraer, Bombardier, De Havilland Canada, Let, ATR).
Domestic aircraft account for only 24% of the total fleet of Russian carriers. Moreover, for modern models - An-148, Tu-204, Tu-214 and Sukhoi Superjet - only 6.3%. The remaining 17.7% are old modifications of An, Tu and Yak, most of which flew in the USSR. “But the share of these cars in the volume of passenger traffic is less than 5%,” adds a professor at Moscow State Technical University civil aviation Alexander Fridland.
In terms of quantity, Sukhoi Superjet is the leader among modern Russian models: domestic airlines have 39 such aircraft. “The Sukhoi Superjet has a niche, but it is very narrow due to its size (capacity - up to 100 seats. - RBC),” says Friedland. According to him, for local and regional routes it is large, but on main routes with good passenger traffic it is inferior to economical cars by 150-200 seats. “His niche is mainline, but weak in flow directions,” the interlocutor believes.
The An-24 has not been produced since 1979, but there are still 67 such aircraft in the fleet of Russian companies (Photo: Transport-Photo Images)
Of the Soviet aircraft, the An-24 is the largest in the airline fleet - 67 aircraft. A turboprop passenger aircraft for short and medium-haul routes was developed by the Antonov Design Bureau (KB) in the late 1950s. Maximum capacity is up to 52 passengers. It is operated mainly by Russian regional companies (RBC considers such companies not to operate long-haul flights, flights through the capital's air hub and those not based in Moscow and St. Petersburg). “The An-24 is the only aircraft in the world of this class that lands on the ground, on compacted snow or ice,” recalls Oleg Smirnov, Honored Pilot of the USSR, President of the Air Transport Infrastructure Development Fund. — He flew all over airspace USSR and in the current conditions on Far North practically irreplaceable."
Now the An-24 continues to be used by companies based in the north: Polar Airlines, Yakutia, Chukotavia. For now, it is impossible to replace it en masse with foreign models. Firstly, planes of foreign brands that could land at airfields in these regions accommodate fewer passengers, explains Kramarenko. In addition, technical documentation for them is available at English language, which is not owned by all An-24 pilots and personnel. However, during 2012-2013, Yakutia leased five Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft with a capacity of 70 to 80 seats. In addition to Bombardier, Aeroflot's subsidiary, the Far Eastern airline Aurora, flies Canadian De Havilland Canada 6 Twin Otter. Most likely, in the coming years, all An-24s will be replaced by foreign aircraft, “because they will exhaust their service life and it will become extremely difficult and expensive to maintain their airworthiness,” predicts Dmitry Mirgorodsky, partner of the consulting company Concuros, former vice-president of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft. There is no replacement for them with domestic analogues.
The second most popular among Soviet aircraft is the Yak-42: there are 33 such aircraft in the fleet of Russian airlines. However, several of them are in storage: some are waiting for parts to be replaced, some will no longer fly into the air. The cars are part of the fleets of Gazpromavia, Grozny Avia, Izhavia, and Saratov Airlines. The latter company began flying Brazilian Embraer 190s two years ago.
How old are planes in Russia?
As the study showed, on average in Russia the age of foreign models is less than their service life, while our aircraft are often older. According to Andrey Sharypov, head of the civil aviation vessel certification department of the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation, for foreign aircraft it is about 40-60 thousand hours, that is, 30 years. For the Soviets it was less - about 20 years. The manufacturer can extend the service life individually for each vessel.
For example, the average age of the Boeing 737 Classic generation (modifications 300, 400, 500) in Russia is 20.2 years. Generations Boeing 737 Next Generation (modifications 600, 700, 800, 900) - 9.1 years. Airbus modifications 320 - 7.5 years, A319 - 11.9 years (see infographic). These figures are not significantly different from the world average. The Dutch airline KLM, according to planespotters.net, Boeing New Generation flies on average at the age of 9.3 years. The American low-cost airline Southwest Airlines, according to USA Today and the airfleets.net portal, is 9.7 years old. The Boeing 737 Classic aircraft (modifications 300, 400 and 500) of this airline are on average more than 22 years old.
As for Airbus, the A320 fleet of the German Germanwings is 23 years old. The American Delta, which flies with Aeroflot in the Skyteam alliance, has a lifespan of 20.7 years. Delta's A319 aircraft are 13.8 years old.
The oldest model of aircraft flying in Russia is the An-24. On average they are 42.1 years old. The average age of another Soviet aircraft still in operation, the Yak-42, is 24.7 years.
Soviet aircraft and modern Russian ones (with the exception of Sukhoi Superjet), unlike foreign ones, have problems with parts. Mass production of such machines has been stopped, so you have to order components individually, which costs several times more, says Sergei Koval, deputy head of the monitoring and authentication department of the Civil Aviation Research Institute. As a result, parts with forged documents are sometimes installed on Soviet cars. According to Koval’s estimates, the market now contains up to 8% of illegal parts, and from 2001 to 2015, 50 serious incidents occurred due to problems with parts (incidents with airplanes and helicopters are taken into account).
What happened to Soviet design bureaus
The Saratov Aviation Plant, which produced Yak aircraft, went bankrupt and was completely liquidated. The design bureaus that developed Soviet aircraft—the Tupolev Design Bureau and the Yakovlev Design Bureau (now part of the United Aircraft Corporation)—continue to exist mainly by supporting the remaining aircraft in service, Koval says. The Antonov Design Bureau (now the Antonov state enterprise) is located in Ukraine.
The age of the aircraft, according to professionals, does not affect its technical condition and airworthiness. “As a ship commander, I don’t ask: will you give me an old plane or will I fly on a new one? This doesn’t interest me at all,” explains Smirnov. The main thing is whether the aircraft underwent maintenance and repairs on time throughout its life. In addition, every part of the aircraft has its own resources. By that time, says Smirnov, “as the aircraft turns 17 years old, these parts can be replaced several times.”
The study found that 58.7% of aircraft in the Russian fleet had only one or two operators. And more than ten air carriers that replaced each other - only 3% of boards are in baggage. Moreover, in many cases, two of the same companies used aircraft in turns. This, for example, was the case with the Izhavia airline’s Yak-42: according to data from airfleets.net, if we take into account alternating carriers, it changed 20 operators in 28 and a half years. According to Smirnov, professionals are distrustful of an aircraft that has previously flown “in countries with high humidity, for example in Africa.” However, the lessor and the owner are obliged to put such a car in order. In this regard, the lessor, and not the previous operator, is important for the technical condition of the aircraft, the expert believes.
As a rule, carriers abandon aircraft for economic reasons, and not because of the end of its life, according to a study by leasing company Avalon (offices in the USA, Ireland, Dubai, Singapore and China). In Russia, foreign and new domestic aircraft models cease to be used at the age of 20-23, says HSE researcher Kramarenko. Global figures, according to Avalon research, are similar.
Airline age preferences
Russian airlines with the oldest fleet use Soviet aircraft. Among carriers with ten or more aircraft, the oldest fleet—41.2 years—has the Turukhan company, part of the UTair group. It mainly operates custom flights, including for mining companies. But Turukhan also has regular transportation, therefore his aircraft were included in our study.
In total, there are 16 companies in Russia operating aircraft over 25 years old for regular and charter transportation (see table).
The youngest park is at Pobeda, a subsidiary of Aeroflot that recently started operating. Its sides are only a year old. Aeroflot’s average fleet age, according to RBC calculations, is 4.6 years. The planes of Transaero, which stopped flying, were on average 18.6 years old (the S7 fleet was 9.2 years old, and UTair was 14 years old). In 2005-2008, many Russian airlines, including the Big Four carriers, when fuel prices went up, massively renewed their fleet, preferring aircraft with lower fuel consumption. In particular, this explains the rather young fleet of foreign aircraft in Russia, notes Fridland.
On April 1, 2001, regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) came into force, establishing reduced engine noise levels for aircraft flying in Europe. Almost all Soviet and Russian planes of that time: Tu-134, Tu-154B, Tu-154M, Il-62, Il-86. Thus, airlines that actively flew to Europe and transited over European countries were forced to replace their old noisy machines with new imported ones.
Low-cost airline Pobeda is the youngest Russian air carrier with the youngest fleet. Their Boeing is only a year old on average (Photo: TASS)
There is also a significant difference between the average age of aircraft from different companies abroad. According to a Bloomberg rating compiled in January 2013, the American Delta has an average age of 15.8 years, Southwest Airlines - 14.7, Aeromexico - 15.2, Lufthansa - 12.4, Air France - 11.5, Ryanair - five years.
Each company chooses for itself what is more cost-effective for it: a new or older aircraft, Mirgorodsky emphasizes. For example, purchasing a new Boeing 737-800 will cost approximately $48-55 million. The same ten-year-old model will already cost $16-18 million, says Alexander Kochetkov, head of the leasing company Gold"nsky Leasing. But old aircraft also require maintenance costs. Not all companies can afford to pay such sums at a time - they have to lease the machines.In Russia, according to estimates by the company Ilyushin Finance Co., at least 80% of the aircraft in use are leased.
This is exactly what the largest market player, Aeroflot, is doing, intending to enter the top 20 global air carriers in terms of revenue and passenger traffic by 2025. For the sake of this goal, the airline has been not only increasing but also refreshing its fleet for several years, General Director Vitaly Savelyev has repeatedly said in his interviews. “It’s difficult to compete on the global market with an old aircraft,” Mirgorodsky explains the strategy. Aeroflot also gives older models to its subsidiaries - Aurora Airlines, Orenburg Airlines, Donavia, and Rossiya.
But many companies don’t even have enough money to lease new aircraft. Transaero, for example, which dreamed of ousting a state-owned competitor, due to expensive debt financing, as it itself admitted in its financial statements, was expanding its fleet with cheap foreign and new cars, Vedomosti wrote. After the devaluation of the ruble at the end of last year, leasing for Russian companies has become significantly more expensive, even for old aircraft (leasing payments are made in foreign currency. - RBC), adds Mirgorodsky. According to Kochetkov’s estimates, leasing a new Boeing 737-800 costs an average of $4.2 million per year, and about $2 million for a ten-year one.
Summing up 2017 Federal agency Air Transport has published brief statistics on the work of civil aviation in the Russian Federation. The big picture for the participants rating of Russian airlines 2018 looks good. The air transportation market continues to develop, and almost all reliable Russian airlines included in the list demonstrated an average increase in the number of passengers and kilometers flown by 15%. At the same time, the weight of the top five airlines continues to grow. If in 2017 they occupied 67.4% of the total volume, then in 2018 it was already 85%.
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Read also:, the best airlines of the year according to Skytrax.
Opens the rating of the largest airlines in Russia Nordwind Airlines, aka “North Wind”. Over the past year, the number of passengers amounted to 3.5 million people and increased by 95% compared to 2016. Passenger turnover also showed growth, increasing by 44%.
One of the largest charter carriers in Russia, which transported more than 2.2 million passengers in 2017, was called to the carpet by the Federal Air Transport Agency in the summer of 2016 due to constant long flight delays of up to several tens of hours. The carrier promised to take action. In case of inability to arrange regular flights to exact time the company faces restrictions on transportation.
Azur Air was a subsidiary of UTair, but two years ago it set out on its own. In 2017, the number of passengers of the company amounted to 3.6 million people, almost 2/3 more compared to 2016.
Globus is part of the S7 Group, being a subsidiary of the airline giant Siberia, which took second place in the ranking of the best airlines. 2017 turned out to be favorable for the company - the number of passengers increased by 20.2%, amounting to 4.1 million people.
The Aeroflot subsidiary, which took over the baton from Dobroleta, which died as a result of UES sanctions, is positioned as a budget company. Although the first tickets for the new airline's flights were sold only two years ago, it confidently entered the top 10 airlines in Russia.
The number of passengers in 2017 amounted to 4.3 million people, an increase of 5% compared to 2016. Despite its youth, Pobeda’s flights have already become surrounded by scandals. Users are dissatisfied with the policy of keeping silent about the real price of a flight, demands to pay for the opportunity for families to sit together, flight delays and cases when more tickets are sold for a flight than the number of seats.
In fifth place in the ranking of Russian airlines in 2018 are Ural Airlines, which transported 7.5 million people in 2017, demonstrating an increase of 25%. In the meantime, the company is demanding that the Federal Air Transport Agency pay for the transportation of WWII veterans to celebrate the anniversary of the Victory in 2015. The Federal Air Transport Agency rejected the application for payment, citing the fact that it did not contain the words “including VAT” and other points of the same importance.
The owner of the world's largest operating helicopter fleet appears to have recovered from the crisis of late 2014. In 2017, the number of passengers transported by this company amounted to 6.8 million people, an increase of 9.1% compared to 2016.
The second subsidiary of giant Aeroflot, which made it into the top ten of the 2018 Russian airline rankings, carried more than 10.6 million people last year, posting an impressive 41.5% growth in passenger numbers - the highest of any ranked airline. At the same time, passenger turnover increased by 55.3%.
In second place in the ranking of the largest airlines in Russia is Siberia, also known as S7 Airlines, which carries out transportation to 83 destinations both in Russia and abroad. Most of the latter, however, are served by partner airlines. In total, 9.3 million passengers were transported in 2017.
Russians continue to fly on Aeroflot planes. In 2017, the company transported more than 30.5 million people, surpassing Siberia, which took second place in the rating, by more than 3 times. It is not surprising, since Aeroflot is the largest and oldest Russian airline, which has been transporting passengers since 1923. Although the company was included in the black sanctions list of Ukraine, this does not prevent the increase in the number of shipments.
According to such criteria as the number of passengers and passenger turnover, the company recorded an increase of 12% over the past year. By the way, Aeroflot can also be called one of the safest airlines in Russia in 2018– not a single thing happened on her lines major plane crash, including, of course, subsidiaries and misfortunes caused by the actions of third parties. In the airline safety rating published in 2017 by the auditing company JACDEC, Aeroflot is in 37th place.
World Airlines Safety Ranking 2017 (JACDEC)
| Rank | Airline | A country | Carrier code | Safety index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cathay Pacific Airways | China,Hong-Kong | CX, CPA | 0,005 |
| 2 | Air New Zealand | New Zealand | NZ, ANZ | 0,007 |
| 3 | Hainan Airlines | China | HU,CHH | 0,009 |
| 4 | Qatar Airways | Qatar | QR, QTR | 0,009 |
| 5 | K L M | Netherlands | KL, KLM | 0,011 |
| 6 | EVA Air | Taiwan | BR, EVA | 0,012 |
| 7 | Emirates | United Arab Emirates | EK, UAE | 0,013 |
| 8 | Etihad Airways | United Arab Emirates | EY, ETD | 0,014 |
| 9 | QANTAS | Australia | QF, QFA | 0,015 |
| 10 | Japan Airlines | Japan | JL, JAL | 0,015 |
| 11 | All Nippon Airways | Japan | N.H., A.N.A. | 0,016 |
| 12 | Lufthansa | Germany | LH, DLH | 0,016 |
| 13 | TAP Portugal | Portugal | TP, TAP | 0,017 |
| 14 | Virgin Atlantic Airways | United Kingdom | VS, VIR | 0,017 |
| 15 | Delta Air Lines | USA | DL, DAL | 0,018 |
| 16 | Air Canada | Canada | AC, ACA | 0,02 |
| 17 | jetBlue Airways | USA | B6, JBU | 0,02 |
| 18 | Virgin Australia | Australia | VA, VOZ | 0,02 |
| 19 | British Airways | United Kingdom | B.A., B.A.W. | 0,023 |
| 20 | Air Berlin | Germany | AB, BER | 0,023 |
| 21 | WestJet Airlines | Canada | W.S., W.J.A. | 0,023 |
| 22 | Sichuan Airlines | China | 3U, CSC | 0,028 |
| 23 | Norwegian Air Shuttle | Norway | DY,NAX | 0,032 |
| 24 | Shenzhen Airlines | China | ZH, CSZ | 0,032 |
| 25 | Iberia | Spain | IB, IBE | 0,034 |
| 26 | Jetstar Airways | Australia | JQ,JST | 0,036 |
| 27 | Southwest Airlines | USA | W.N., S.W.A. | 0,037 |
| 28 | EasyJet | United Kingdom | U2, EZY | 0,037 |
| 29 | AirAsia | Malaysia | AK, AXM | 0,043 |
| 30 | Thomson Airways | United Kingdom | BY, TOM | 0,047 |
| 31 | United Airlines | USA | UA, UAL | 0,051 |
| 32 | Singapore Airlines | Singapore | SQ, SIA | 0,051 |
| 33 | China Eastern Airlines | China | MU, CES | 0,061 |
| 34 | Ryanair | Ireland | FR, RYR | 0,064 |
| 35 | Swiss | Switzerland | LX, SWR | 0,064 |
| 36 | LATAM Chile | Chile | LA, LAN | 0,095 |
| 37 | Aeroflot | Russia | SU, AFL | 0,101 |
| 38 | Jet Airways | India | 9W,JAI | 0,109 |
| 39 | Alitalia | Italy | AZ, AZA | 0,113 |
| 40 | Air India | India | AI, AIC | 0,115 |
| 58 | Garuda Indonesia | Indonesia | GA, GIA | 0,77 |
| 59 | Avianca Colombia | Colombia | AV, AVA | 0,914 |
| 60 | China Airlines | Taiwan | CI, CAL | 0,977 |
