Aerosvit Airlines

AeroSvit Airlines closed joint stock company (Ukr. Закрите акціонерне товариство «Авіакомпанія АероСвіт»), operating as AeroSvit - Ukrainian Airlines / АероСвіт, is one of the Ukrainian flag carriers. Its head office is on the grounds of Boryspil International Airport in Boryspil, Kiev Oblast, Ukraine.^[1] AeroSvit operates currently the largest network^[2] (among other Ukrainian carriers) of scheduled international flights, performing scheduled domestic and international services ^[3] directly or by code share to over 72 destinations including long-haul international services to China, India, Thailand, Canada, USA, Srilanka and Vietnam, as well as charter services.

Aerosvit Airlines is a full member of IATA and an IATA IOSA certified carrier.

Its main base is Boryspil International Airport, Kiev.

The airline was established on 25 March 1994, and started operations in April 1994 with flights from Kiev to Tel Aviv, Odessa, Thessaloniki, Athens and Larnaca in co-operation with Air Ukraine. In October 1994, it started to dry-lease Boeing 737-200 aircraft as the network expanded to include flights to Moscow. It was the first^[4] European passenger airline to use Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

The main shareholder of the company is PrivatBank, controlled by Ihor Kolomoyskyi.^[5]

History

1990s

1994: The closed joint-stock company AeroSvit was incorporated. Launch of scheduled flights from Kiev to Athens and Tel-Aviv. New scheduled flights from Kiev to destinations in Greece and Cyprus were launched. Acquisition of the first Boeing 737-200 aircraft under operational lease. First flight Kiev-Athens under AeroSvit Airlines’ own code was performed.

1995: Scheduled flights from Kiev to Almaty, Ashgabad, and Riga were launched.

1996: Scheduled flights to Yekaterinburg, Kharkov, Lviv, and Simferopol’ were launched. AeroSvit Airlines became a full IATA member.

1997: AeroSvit Airlines became a member of IATA Clearing House. AeroSvit Airlines purchased one Boeing 737-200.

1998: Further development of route network

1999: AeroSvit Airlines added a third Boeing 737-200 aircraft to its fleet. Scheduled flights to Budapest were launched. Scheduled flights to Sofia and Istanbul were launched.

2000s

2000: Two Boeing 737-300 aircraft joined AeroSvit Airlines’ fleet. Scheduled flights to Prague and Warsaw were launched. AeroSvit Airlines carried more passengers than any other Ukrainian airline.

2001: Further development of route network

2002: AeroSvit Airlines added three Boeing 737-500 aircraft to its fleet. First in Ukraine long-haul Boeing 767-300ER aircraft operations were launched. Scheduled flights to Bangkok were launched.

2003: Scheduled flights to New York were launched. AeroSvit Airlines carried its second millionth passenger. Scheduled flights to Toronto were launched. JAR-145 certification for performing maintenance works in accordance with the European Joint Aviation Authorities’ requirements was received. Scheduled flights to Delhi were launched.

2004: Number of weekly flights to Bangkok increased to three; Boeing 737-300 was added to the fleet. The network of domestic flights across Ukraine expanded to eleven destinations. Scheduled flights from Kiev to Beijing and St. Petersburg were launched; AeroSvit Airlines became The official air carrier of the National Olympic team of Ukraine for the XXVIII Olympic Summer Games held in 2004 in Athens. Scheduled flights to Baku were launched. Scheduled flights to Chisinau were launched. Scheduled flights to Cairo were launched.

2005: Aerosvit started operating Boeing 737, 9th middle haul aircraft in airline park. Aerosvit added 10th middle haul aircraft to its fleet. Launch of a new service – e-ticketing on the route New York-Kiev. Aerosvit Airlines and Azerbaijan Airlines started code-share operation of Kiev-Baku route. Launch of scheduled flights from Kiev to Hamburg.

2006: Aerosvit was added to IOSA register (IATA operational safety audit). Launch of scheduled flights from Donetsk to Tel Aviv. Launch of code share flights Kiev-Vilnius (flyLAL). 6 million passengers were carried within 12 years of operation

2007: Number of destination points from Ukraine to USA through New-York increased up to 100 cities. Aerosvit Airlines and Donbassaero built the strategic alliance Ukrainian Aviation Group. The fleet was added by the third long haul aircraft Boeing 767 and eleventh middle haul Boeing 737. Launch of code share flights Kiev-Minsk (Belavia). Aerosvit Airlines received the 12th middle haul aircraft Boeing 737. Aerosvit signed the contract with Boeing for delivery of 14 Boeing 737-800 New Generation starting from 2012. AeroSvit Airlines launched online ticket sales on www.aerosvit.com

2008: Launch of scheduled flights Kiev-Tbilisi. Launch of scheduled flights Kiev-Almaty. E-ticketing implementation at all Aerosvit scheduled flights. AeroSvit Airlines became the official air carrier of the National Olympic team of Ukraine for the XXIX Olympic Games held in Beijing

2009: Aerosvit launched scheduled flights Kiev-Astana. Aerosvit started operation of Ukrainian new generation jet aircraft Antonov 148. Aerosvit prolongated the IOSA certificate up to October 2011

2010s

2010: Aerosvit added a second Antonov 148 aircraft to its fleet. New routes included Odesa-Kaliningrad, Simferopol-Kaliningrad, Donetsk-Saint Petersburg, Odesa-Riga, and Dnipropetrovsk-Berlin. The Odesa-Milan code-share route was launched. Dniproavia joined the strategic alliance Ukrainian aviation group. Scheduled flights from Kiev to Vilnius, Riga, Bucharest, Chisinau, Kaliningrad, Tashkent, Сopenhagen, Yerevan, Minsk, and Gyanja were initiated. Aerosvit signed a contract with Boeing for delivery of 4 Boeing 737-900ER in 2013-2014. A fourth Boeing 767 was added to the fleet.

Destinations

Aerosvit destinations

Codeshare agreements

Aerosvit codeshares with the following airlines as of October 2011: ^[6]

Fleet

Aerosvit fleet consists of 18 Boeing aircraft. Occasionally Aerosvit uses A320 and Embraer 145 on a wet lease basis.

In Autumn 2002, the first long-haul Boeing 767 aircraft was added to AeroSvit Airlines’ fleet. The company added a second Boeing 767 one year later. These aircraft have become the backbone for the first global, long-haul flight service in the history of independent Ukraine and have provided for the successful launch of five transcontinental routes between Kiev and North America (New York and Toronto), South East Asia (Bangkok) and (Ho Chi Minh City), Central Asia (Delhi) and (Colombo), and the Far East (Beijing). These operations have been integrated gradually into AeroSvit Airline’s well-established medium-haul networks in Europe, the Middle East, and CIS countries as well as with its domestic short-haul flights to Ukrainian regional centers.

Aircraft operated

The Aerosvit Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (November 2011)^[8]:

Cabins

Aerosvit aircraft comprise two-class cabins - business and economy - on all of its international flights. Business passengers are, in most cases, provided with a menu, in which they have three to four options of order for every dish - a main course, a secondary dish, a dessert and a drink). Economy class passengers have two options of meals. Aerosvit, unlike many other airlines, still serves meals without special purchase. On long-haul flights, general meals are offered twice, with a snack between them. The company also offers all passengers special food orders (fees may apply) 24 hours prior to the flight. On long-haul routes, business-class passengers are offered a personal audio/video menu. There is also an on-board duty-free shop on all international flights.

International flights

A fundamental element of AeroSvit Airlines’ commercial policy is maximizing the use of Boryspil International Airport’s transfer potential as well as the opportunity to attract additional transfer traffic to and beyond other regions of AeroSvit Airlines’ operations. Therefore, AeroSvit Airlines adheres to the following principles:

• Maximum use of all possible connections within its route network as well as those of its partner airlines
• Increasing the number and quality of connections with its own flights at Boryspil International Airport
• Flexible distribution of frequencies in the schedule

Domestic flights

Since 2002, AeroSvit Airlines has started executing the social priority program of domestic, intra-Ukrainian air carriage, operating scheduled flights that connect Dnipropetrovs’k, Odessa, and Simferopol’ with the capital of Ukraine. In 2003-2004, AeroSvit Airlines’ domestic network extended to seven destinations, adding Donetsk, Kharkov, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankovsk to the list of places where AeroSvit flies. When executing the domestic flights program, flight safety, high regularity of flights, and a high level of service have all become priority areas. Special standards of domestic flights were developed, such as making special menus available on all flights. In 2004 establishment of close cooperation with other Ukrainian airlines has supplemented AeroSvit Airlines’ own route network with such destinations as Uzhgorod, Chernovtsy, Lugansk, and Zaporizhzhia.

Today AeroSvit together with its Alliance partner airlines serve flights to majority of domestic destinations which include: Donetsk, Odessa, Simferopol, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Ivano-Frankovsk, Uzhgorod, Chernovtsy, Lugansk, Sevastopol.

Non-scheduled (charter) flights

Another area of focus for AeroSvit Airlines is non-scheduled or charter, air carriage. From 1994-2004, AeroSvit Airlines, in addition to operating scheduled flights, has been organizing charter programs and performing single ad hoc flights for various customers.

The first stage of AeroSvit Airlines’ charter activities’ development was execution of a program of flights to the Greek island of Crete, which were carried out only in summer months.

Since 1998, AeroSvit Airlines has been increasing the number of charter flights offered. In 1998, the first flights to Antalya (Turkey) were executed. In the beginning of 1999, AeroSvit Airlines opened a new charter route to Hurgada (Egypt). Since 1999, new charter flights to Bulgaria, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Tunis, and other countries have been added.
AeroSvit Airlines has increased its volume of charter air carriage considerably. In addition to flights to traditional summer resorts, AeroSvit Airlines develops flights to winter skiing resorts in such countries as Austria, France, Finland, Turkey, and Slovakia.

After AeroSvit Airlines added Boeing 767-300ER’s to its fleet, the list of charter routes has been expanded to include such exotic destinations as the Maldives, Tenerife, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia and other locales.

Traffic and Statistics

Corporate affairs and identity

Liveries and logo

Aerosvit's present livery is a Euro white scheme, comprising a white fuselage with the blue Aerosvit title and design. The tail is white with a blue bird wing inside the yellow circle and the small Ukrainian flag at the top. The wing became a symbol of the company and inspired the name of Aerosvit Airlines. In 2011, to coincide with Alliance common geometry in livery style, a new livery was unveiled.

International cooperation

AeroSvit is a member of the following international organizations:

• International Air Transport Association (IATA), including BSP
• Association of European Airlines (AEA)
• European Business Association (EBA)
• U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC)
• International Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (ICCU)
• Kiev Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Association of Ukrainian-Chinese Cooperation (AUCC)

Company policies

Online sales policy

Taking into account the tendency of global internet user’s audience gain worldwide, AeroSvit Airlines considers online sales of air tickets from its web site to be one of the best mediums to involve new clients and maintain a positive image among present clientele.

At present, AeroSvit Airlines actively maintains its presence on the World Wide Web using different internet advertising tools, social media such as Facebook, Twitter and sure enough the web site that was developed based on AeroSvit Airlines’ corporate identity as well as the informational demands of clients depending on their geographic location.

Distribution policy

AeroSvit Airlines’ distribution policy is aimed at developing its agency network; its own sales network, and interline-agreement networks. Agency sales are established by means of direct agreements with the companies that carry out sales of air tickets as well as by joining global networks that sell air carriage on neutral tickets, such as IATA Billing and Settlement Plans (BSP), US Airline Reporting Corporation (ARC), and Russian Transport Clearing House (TKP). Today, AeroSvit Airlines has direct agreements with more than 200 agents worldwide. It also has contracts with all IATA BSP’s that operate in the countries where AeroSvit Airlines operates flights.
AeroSvit Airlines’ own sales network is established both in Kiev and in a significant number of AeroSvit Airlines’ representative offices, both in Ukraine and abroad. These functions simultaneously serve as information and advertising venues.

New services

As of 30 April 2009, passengers to Sheremetyevo International Airport and Kharkiv International Airport can use online registration, found on the airline's website. It gives passengers a possibility to choose a seat aboard the plane, print the boarding pass and arrive with it to the airport. The online registration closes 2 hours 40 minutes prior to takeoff. The company introduced online registration for all of its flights. Passengers can print out their boarding pass at home by providing their e-ticket number, passenger name and flight details, frequent flyer card number or credit card number.
In addition to registration, AeroSvit introduced other online services. Now customers may also change their flights, request a chat with customer service representative. Latest addition features the ability to pre-order hot meals at ones own discretion.

Incidents and accidents

On 17 December 1997, Aerosvit Flight 241, a Yakovlev Yak-42, crashed near Thessaloniki, Greece; all 62 passengers and 8 crew members died.^[10]

References

External links

• Aerosvit Airlines