Air Volga
IATA ICAO Callsign
G6 VLA
WLG		 GOUMRAK
Founded1992 (1992) (following the dissolution of Aeroflot)
Ceased operations2010 (2010) (acquired by RusLine)
Operating basesVolgograd International Airport
HeadquartersVolgograd, Russia
Websitewww.vae.ru (defunct)

LCC Air Volga (Russian: ООО «Авиакомпания Во́лга») was an airline headquartered in Volgograd, Russia, operating scheduled passenger flights and holiday charters from its base at Volgograd International Airport.[1]

History

A Volga Aviaexpress Yakovlev Yak-42 at Istanbul Atatürk Airport (2008).
An Air Volga Bombardier CRJ200 approaching Domodedovo International Airport (2010).

When Aeroflot was dissolved in 1992,[2] its Volgograd-based division became an independent company known as Volga Airlines,[1] having inherited a number of Soviet aircraft. The airline was renamed Volga Aviaexpress (Russian: ООО «Волга Авиа-экспресс») in 1998, and again Air Volga on 14 November 2008.[1] In February 2009, the Bombardier CRJ200 became the first Western-built aircraft to be operated by Air Volga. After the initial two 50-seat Bombardier aircraft joined the fleet, another four arrived in November of that year.[3]

On 1 April 2010, Air Volga declared bankruptcy, and all flight operations were stopped. Its assets and brand name was acquired by RusLine,[1] along with the route network and CRJ200 fleet.[3] The Air Volga name thus survived, currently being used for the marketing of regional RusLine flights.

Route network

Between 2006 and 2010, Volga Aviaexpress/Air Volga operated scheduled flights to the following destinations:[4]

Country City Airport
Armenia Yerevan Zvartnots International Airport
Azerbaijan Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport
Kazakhstan Aktau Aktau Airport
Russia Moscow Domodedovo International Airport
Russia Nalchik Nalchik Airport
Russia Saint Petersburg Pulkovo Airport
Russia Sochi Sochi International Airport (seasonal)
Russia Surgut Surgut International Airport
Russia Volgograd Volgograd International Airport (base)
Russia Yekaterinburg Koltsovo Airport
Turkey Antalya Antalya Airport (seasonal)
Turkey Bodrum Milas–Bodrum Airport (seasonal)
Turkey Dalaman Dalaman Airport (seasonal)

Fleet

Over the years, the following aircraft types were operated:

Aircraft Introduced Retired
Antonov An-2[5]
Bombardier CRJ200[3]
2009
2010
Tupolev Tu-134[1]
Yakovlev Yak-40[1]
Yakovlev Yak-42[1]

Accidents and incidents

  • On 25 January 1995, a Volga Airlines Yakovlev Yak-40 (registered RA-87464) was damaged beyond repair when it overran the runway on landing at Rostov-on-Don Airport, subsequently colliding with a concrete wall. The ten passengers and four crew members on the flight from Volgograd survived the accident, which was later attributed to pilot error.[6]
  • On 2 June 1995, the twelve people on board a Volga Airlines Antonov An-2 (registered CCCP-68142) died when the aircraft crashed in poor weather conditions near Volgograd.[5]
  • The Bombing of Flight 1303 on 24 August 2004 with its 44 fatalities was the worst incident in the history of the airline. A bomb detonated on board the Tupolev Tu-134 (registered RA-65080) en route a flight from Moscow to Volgograd, resulting in the aircraft crashing in Tula Oblast. Nearly simultaneously, another bomb was exploded on a Siberian Airlines flight. Female suicide terrorists from Chechnya were made responsible for these attacks.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Information about Air Volga at the Aero Transport Data Bank
  2. ↑ "The Bullish Bear". Flight International. 8–14 April 1992. pp. 20–23. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "List of the Bombardier CRJ200s operated by Air Volga, at planespotters.net". Archived from the original on 2016-03-16. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
  4. ↑ Archived flight schedules of Volga Aviaexpress/Air Volga at web.archive.org: February 2006October 2007October 2008August 2009
  5. 1 2 June 1995 Volga airlines accident report at the Aviation Safety Network
  6. ↑ January 1995 Volga Airlines accident report, at the Aviation Safety Network
  7. ↑ Report of the bombing of Flight 1303 at the Aviation Safety Network
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