|
||||
| Founded | 1993 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | Chişinău International Airport | |||
| Frequent-flyer program | Air Moldova Club | |||
| Fleet size | 5 | |||
| Destinations | 17 | |||
| Company slogan | Born to fly | |||
| Headquarters | Chişinău, Moldova | |||
| Key people | Iulian Scorpan | |||
| Website | airmoldova.md | |||
Air Moldova is an airline with its head office on the grounds of Chişinău International Airport in Chişinău, Moldova.[1] It is the national airline of Moldova and operates scheduled services to 17 destinations in Europe. Its main base is Chişinău International Airport. The Air Moldova air operators certificate permits the transport of passengers, goods and mail (at July 2007).[2] Air Moldova is IATA and ICAO member.
Contents |
The airline was established and started operations in 1993[3] on the basis of the local Aeroflot's unit. Since its very start, the company’s efforts were targeted at integration to the international market and compliance with the modern standards and requirements to high-end airlines. Air Moldova joined the management team improvement program in 1999.
On 13 July 2004, Air Moldova became an IATA member. Air Moldova have also passed the operation safety audit and received the IOSA operator certificate.
The origin of Air Moldova can be traced to 19 September 1944, when the first unit of Po-2 transport aircraft arrived in Chisinau and the Moldovan Independent Squadron was established.
Aside from fifteen aircraft Po-2 biplanes operating domestic flights and serving in the agricultural role, there were also two LI-2, which were used on flights to Moscow, some Ukrainian cities and to Black Sea and Caucasus summer resorts.
In the 1960s, considerable steps in the development of the local airline industry were made. A new airport in Chisinau able to accommodate gas turbine aircraft opened early in the decade.
The enterprise received status of Civil Aviation Administration in 1965 and new An-10, An-12 and An-24 aircraft expanded its fleet. Regular flights to many cities in the USSR were begun and the transportation of fruits and vegetables grown in Moldova to the largest industrial centers of the USSR was established.
The beginning of the 1970s was marked by the appearance of jet aircraft on Moldova's main air routes. The first Tu-134 began service in Moldova in 1971 and became the main aircraft of the enterprise, increasing in number until at one point 26 of them were in use. In Chisinau there was even an all-union test basis for aircraft of this type.
The fleet was further enlarged in 1972 with the Yak-42 regional aircraft and in 1974 with the An-26 cargo aircraft. The route map kept expanding and the flow of traffic kept growing throughout the decade. In the middle of the 1980s, Moldovan operations received ten Tu-154 aircraft, furthering the development of Moldovan aviation. At that time Moldovan aircraft flew to 73 cities in the USSR and carried over 1,000,000 passengers per year. In 1990 the first international route between Chisinau and Frankfurt-am-Main was opened.
The Air Moldova fleet consists of the following aircraft (at 7 October 2010):[4]
| Type | In Fleet | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | Y | Total | |||
| Airbus A320-200 | 3 | 8 | 162 | 170 | |
| Embraer 190 | 1 | 6 | 108 | 114 | operating for RAK Airways |
| Embraer 120 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 30 | |
In 2001, Air Moldova leased Embraer 120 and 145 aircraft. The two Yakovlev Yak-42s went back to Russia in late 2003 and 2004. The last Tupolev Tu-154B (ER-85285) was destroyed on July 5, 2006.
In November 2006, 93.1 million Moldovian lei (about 6 million euro) were transferred from the 2006 state budget to Air Moldova. With another 9 million Lei taken from a bank, one of the six Airbus 320 will be bought. The opposition has doubts about the transparency of this deal.[5]
In June 2007, Air Moldova gave back one Airbus 320 to the lessor after 38 months of service.[6]
A MD-82 (SX-BSQ) from SkyWings has been leased for 5 months from 15. May till end of October 2007.[7]
The Tupolev Tu-134 operated the Moscow and Istanbul flights more often when the second Airbus left the fleet. In the past Air Moldova chartered a Cirrus B735, the Moldavian Airlines Fokker 100, a Bulgarian Air VIA A320, Jet Tran Air MD81/82s and a Khors Aircompany M82 as a replacement. The Yak-40 replaced the Embraer 120 (e.g. to Prague or Vienna) when that aircraft was in maintenance.
The first Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia was part of the fleet from 12 October 2001 until 28 September 2006 when it was transferred to Tandem Aero. The second Embraer 120RT flew between 23 April 2004 and 26 March 2005 for Air Moldova.The second EMBRAER EMB-120 Brasilia was bought in 2006
Embraer has signed a firm order with the Moldovan flag carrier Air Moldova for two one-class Embraer 190 regional jet. The contract includes purchase rights for another aircraft. Delivery was on 10 May 2010.
Passenger transportation is operated on scheduled and charter routes. In May 2006, Air Moldova implemented e-ticketing on all its flights.
Air Moldova's in-flight magazine, Open Skies, is printed every two months. In 2010, Air Moldova transported 464.000 passengers.
|
|||||||
