CJSC Sky Express (), simply known as Sky Express and in Russian as Скай Экспресс, was a Russian low-cost airline. Its main base was Vnukovo International Airport, Moscow, Russia. Sky Express was the first airline to focus on being a low-cost domestic airline in Russia. It operated from January 2007 until October 2011.
History The airline was established in March 2006 by a consortium of investors which included KrasAir CEO Boris Abramovich, EBRD, Altima Partners and others, becoming Russia's first low-cost airline. The first flight took off on 29 January 2007 from Moscow to Sochi. Only 20 days after the only other Russian low-cost airline, Avianova, ceased its operations, Sky Express also decided to stop all flights from 29 October 2011. Its fleet and brand name was transferred to Kuban Airlines.
Destinations
As of March 2011, Sky Express served the following destinations:Sky Express website – Flight Schedule
Scheduled flights Russia Anapa – Anapa Airport Chelyabinsk – Chelyabinsk Balandino Airport Kaliningrad – Khrabrovo Airport Krasnodar – Krasnodar International Airport Moscow – Vnukovo Airport, base Murmansk – Murmansk Airport Orenburg – Orenburg Tsentralny Airport Perm – Bolshoye Savino Airport Rostov on Don – Rostov-on-Don Airport Saint Petersburg – Pulkovo Airport Sochi – Adler-Sochi International Airport Tyumen – Roschino Airport Yekaterinburg – Koltsovo Airport
Charter flights Additionally, Sky Express operated charter flights on a seasonal basis to the following destinations during the summer of 2009 and 2010:Sky Express website – Flight Schedule (Russian language only)
Finland (winter 2009–2010) Kuusamo – Kuusamo Airport Rovaniemi – Rovaniemi Airport Greece Heraklion – Nikos Kazantzàkis International Airport Corfu – Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport Rhodes – Diagoras International Airport Hungary Sármellék – Sármellék International Airport Montenegro Tivat – Tivat Airport Spain Ibiza – Ibiza Airport Republic of Macedonia Ohrid – St. Paul the Apostle Airport Sweden Östersund – Åre/Östersund (winter 2009–2010) Turkey Istanbul – Atatürk International Airport
Fleet The Sky Express fleet consisted of the following aircraft in November 2011:
AircraftTotalPassengersAirbus A319-1003156Boeing 737-3002148Boeing 737-5002132
Incidents and accidents
On 24 October 2008, the crew of Sky Express flight XW230 from Sochi to Vnukovo Airport with 132 passengers, reported an attempted hijacking by a drunk passenger, and threatened to explode a bomb demanding the airplane to divert to Vienna. The crew raised a hijack alert almost immediately after liftoff. Emergency services and police were awaiting the plane in Moscow, and the passenger was arrested.Sky Express XW230 Hijack Scare
On 2 April 2009, a Boeing 737 of Sky Express made an emergency landing at Vnukovo Airport shortly after takeoff when abnormal vibrations from the jet's left engine were detected by the crew. None of the 69 people on board were hurt.Boeing 737 lands safely after emergency landing in Moscow (CNN)
References
External links
Official website