Avianova, LLC () was a

low cost airline A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called a budget, or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fa ...

based in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. From its hub at

Sheremetyevo International Airport Sheremetyevo International Airport (, , Internal code: ШРМ) is one of four international airports that serve the city of Moscow. It is the busiest airport in Russia and the post-Soviet states, as well as the ninth-busiest airport in Euro ...

, the carrier served a number of destinations within Russia, as well as an international destination within

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

History

The company was first registered in 2006. It received Russian regulatory approval in August 2009; operations began on 27 August that year. In the beginning, the company advertised their base fares for RUB 250 (less than US$10) excluding taxes and fees. Andrew Pyne, CEO,Avianova prokatila passazhirov
(in Russian), gazeta.ru, 4 December 2009. voiced the strategy of the new company as "flying those Russians who haven't even seen the inside of an airplane in the past twenty years". ,

Alfa Group Alfa Group Consortium () is a Russian international privately owned investment groups, with interests in oil and gas, commercial and investment banking, asset management, insurance, retail trade, telecommunications, water utilities and special ...

controlled 51% of the stake, while US investment company

Indigo Partners Indigo Partners, LLC is an American private equity firm which has a controlling interest in the American Frontier Airlines and Chilean low-cost JetSmart, as well as holding stakes in Mexican budget airline Volaris and European (Hungarian) low ...

held the balance. Avianova carried 1.3 million passengers in 2010, with an occupation of over 80%. By seat numbers flown it had become the second largest carrier at Sheremetyevo airport with 25% of total capacity, operating out of Terminal B. On monthly traffic statistics it ranked as fourth largest domestic carrier in Russia. It opened a second base at Krasnodar in May 2011, with operations to Sochi, Surgut, and St Petersburg, as well as Moscow. By June 2011, it had carried over 2 million passengers since launch at an average seat factor of nearly 80%.

Shareholder coup and bankruptcy

On the morning of 24 June 2011, representatives of the majority shareholder entered the airline's offices and removed the foreign management and some Russian managers and appointed a new leadership, in a move that

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Andrew Pyne described as an "illegal coup". The airline's new management in turn accused the previous management of "managerial incompetence, flouting Russian law and inflicting severe financial damage on the company" and appointed Konstantin Teterin, former general manager of

Red Wings Airlines Red Wings Airlines is a Russian regional leisure airline based in Moscow Domodedovo Airport. The airline provides both scheduled passenger and cargo services. History Red Wings was founded in 1999 under the name VARZ-400, after the Russian ac ...

, as deputy director general. However, Indigo did not recognize this designation, as it stated the move had "no legal basis". The Russian General Director of the company, Vladimir Gorbunov, himself appointed by Pyne in the Spring of 2008, stated that ″from the very beginning of his co-operation with Avianova, Andrew Pyne demonstrated his unwillingness to work in compliance with Russian laws and emphasised his intention to work solely in accordance with his own rules.″ The continued shareholder impasse over management changes and over funding for the company led to Avianova stopping ticket sales on 3 October as a prelude to stopping operations on .

Destinations

Even though the airline operated from

Vnukovo Airport Vnukovo, formally Vnukovo Andrei Tupolev International Airport (named after Andrei Tupolev) ( rus, links=no, Внуково, p=ˈvnukəvə) , is a dual-runway international airport located in Vnukovo District, southwest of the centre of Moscow, ...

in its beginnings, it moved its hub to

Sheremetyevo Airport Sheremetyevo International Airport (, , Internal code: ШРМ) is one of four international airports that serve the city of Moscow. It is the busiest airport in Russia and the post-Soviet states, as well as the ninth-busiest airport in Euro ...

's Terminal 1 on 28 March 2010. Avianova served the following destinations before ceasing operations, : *Russia **

Anapa Anapa (, , ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. As of the 2021 Russian census, it had a population of 81,863. It is one of the largest ...

- Vityazevo Airport **

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

Talagi Airport Talagi Airport ( Russian: Аэропорт Архангельск (Тала́ги) имени Ф.А. Абрамова) is an international airport serving Arkhangelsk, Russia, located 11 kilometers outside the city. In 2001, it had 105,797 pas ...

Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...

Narimanovo Airport Narimanovo Airport, officially Astrakhan Boris M. Kustodiev International Airport, (Russian: Аэропорт Нариманово) is an international airport in Astrakhan, a city in southern Russia near the Caspian Sea. It is operated by JS ...

Gelendzhik Gelendzhik (; Adyghe: Хъулъыжъий, Ḣułəžij) is a resort town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the Gelendzhik Bay of the Black Sea, between Novorossiysk ( to the northwest) and Tuapse ( to the southeast). Greater Gelendzhik sp ...

- Gelendzhik Airport **

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

Khrabrovo Airport Khrabrovo Airport () , also appearing in historical documents as Powunden Airfield,AIRFIELD ACTIVITY IN THE USSR AND SATELLITES (BASED ON(Sanitized)PHOTOGRAPHY), October 1957, CREST: CIA-RDP78T04753A000300040010-6, Central Intelligence Agency, ...

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

- Pashkovsky Airport **

Kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus (burial mound) constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons, and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into mu ...

- Kurgan Airport **

''Hub'' **

Nizhnekamsk Nizhnekamsk (, ; ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Tatarstan, Russia, located to the south of the Kama River between the cities of Naberezhnye Chelny and Chistopol. Population: History As its population increased, spurre ...

Begishevo Airport Begishevo Airport (, ) is an airport in Russia located 19 km east of Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan. It has a very large apron and a number of hangars and buildings. History The construction of Begishevo airport started in 1970 on initiative of N ...

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places * Perm, Russia, a city in Russia **Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 ** Perm Governorate, an administr ...

Bolshoye Savino Airport Perm International Airport () is an international airport located at Bolshoye Savino, southwest of the city of Perm, Russia. It is the only airport in Perm Krai with scheduled commercial flights, and serves as Perm's main civilian airport, wi ...

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

Rostov-on-Don Airport Rostov-on-Don Airport was an international airport located east of the city of Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia. It was one of the largest airports in the south-west of Russia and the 12th busiest in the country. It was founded in 1925 and ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Pulkovo Airport Pulkovo Airport ( rus, links=no, Аэропорт Пулково, p=ˈpuɫkəvə, Location identifier#Russian location identifier, Internal code: ПЛК) is an international airport serving St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the List of the busiest ...

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

- Kurumoch Airport **

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

Adler-Sochi International Airport Sochi International Airport (; ) is an international airport located in the Adler District of the resort city of Sochi, on the coast of the Black Sea in the federal subject of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. Sochi International Airport is among the ten ...

Stavropol Stavropol (, ), known as Voroshilovsk from 1935 until 1943, is a city and the administrative centre of Stavropol Krai, in southern Russia. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 547,820, making it one of Russia's fastest growing cities. E ...

Stavropol Shpakovskoye Airport Stavropol Shpakovskoye Airport (sometimes appearing as Mikhaylovskoye) is an airport in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located 13 km northeast of Stavropol. It serves medium-sized airliners with 14 parking spaces. History In 1934, in the ci ...

Surgut Surgut ( rus, Сургу́т, p=sʊrˈgut; Khanty: Сәрханӆ, ''Sərhanł, Сө̆ркут, sörkut'') is a city in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the Ob River near its junction with the Irtysh River. It is one of the fe ...

Surgut Airport Surgut Airport , also listed as Surgut North Airport, is an airport in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located north of Surgut. It services medium-sized airliners. In 2018, Surgut Airport handled 1,758,310 passengers. In May 2019, the ai ...

Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura ( ...

- Roschino International Airport **

Ufa Ufa is a city in Russia and the capital of the republic of Bashkortostan. UFA or Ufa may also refer to: Places * Ufa (river), a river in Russia; a tributary of the Belaya * Ufa International Airport, near the Russian city * Ufa railway statio ...

Ufa International Airport Ufa International Airport (, ''Mezhdunarodnyy aeroport Ufa'', ) is the primary airport serving Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. In 2017, the airport handled 2,810,000 passengers, becoming the tenth largest airport in Russia and the ...

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk,, , known as Simbirsk until 1924, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Ulyanovsk has been the only Russian UNESCO Ci ...

- Vostochny Airport **

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

Volgograd International Airport Volgograd International Airport, symbolically referred to as Stalingrad International Airport since April 2025 (; ), is an airport located 15 km northwest of the city of Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, in Russia. It comprises a civilian airpo ...

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

Koltsovo Airport Koltsovo International Airport () is the international airport serving Yekaterinburg, Russia, located 16 km (10 mi) southeast of the city. Being the largest airport in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Koltsovo also serves nearby towns such as Aram ...

*Ukraine **

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

Simferopol Airport Simferopol International Airport is an airport located in Simferopol, Crimea. Since the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014, the airport is only used for flights to and from Russian airports due to Political status of Crimea#St ...

Terminated Before Ceasing Operations

*Russia – Kazan (suspended), Moscow-Vnukovo

Fleet

Avianova operated 6

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...

aircraft. In accordance with the growing low-cost aviation market in Russia Avianova stated a long-term view to operate up to 50 aircraft in five years, but this never happened. All Avianova aircraft were registered in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. As of September 2011, the Avianova fleet consisted of the following aircraft with an average age of 10.5 years:

References

External links

Avianova (English website)Avianova (Russian website) Avianova CEO Andrew Pyne Interview with anna.aero
{{Airlines of Russia Airlines established in 2009 Airlines disestablished in 2011 Defunct airlines of Russia Defunct European low-cost airlines Companies based in Moscow 2011 disestablishments in Russia Russian companies established in 2009