Aurora (airline)

For the defunct airline, see Aurora Airlines.
Aurora
Aurora
IATA ICAO Callsign
HZ SHU SATAIR
Founded November 2013 (2013-11)
Commenced operations 8 December 2013 (2013-12-08)
Operating bases
Hubs
Fleet size 22
Parent company Aeroflot (51%)
Key people
  • Konstantin Sukhorebrik (CEO)[1]
Website flyaurora.ru/

Aurora (Russian: Аврора) is a Russian Far East air carrier, subsidiary of Aeroflot. It is named after the Russian cruiser Aurora.[2]

History

Aurora was created by order of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.[2] Aurora was named Taiga Airline for a short period of time.[3] Aeroflot formed the carrier by amalgamating SAT Airlines and Vladivostok Avia, which served 42 and 15 destinations, respectively, and had a combined fleet of 24 aircraft plus 11 helicopters.[2] These two carriers were expected to cease operations in early 2014.[4] The number of routes served was planned to grow from 30 to 128,[5] including the main cities of the Russian Far East, such as Khabarovsk, Magadan, Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.[4]

Aurora is 51%-owned by Aeroflot, with the regional government of Sakhalin holding the balance.[2][6] An initial investment of RUB 430 million (USD 13.5 million) was provided by the parent company through a loan that should be repaid in 2017.[7] The airline carried 1,125 million passengers in 2015, a 7.1% increase year-on-year.[8]

Fleet

Aurora Boeing 737-500 taxiing at Vladivostok International Airport.
Aurora's first Airbus A319 at Sheremetyevo Airport

The new carrier's first aircraft was an Airbus A319, wearing a new livery.[4] In December 2015, the airline received the first of three Bombardier Q400 aircraft it has on order.[9] The carrier is aiming to have 40 aircraft in their fleet by 2018, nearly double the aircraft they currently have.[10][11]

As of May 2016, Aurora operates the following aircraft:[9]

Aurora Fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A319 10 — 128 —
Bombardier Dash 8 Q200 2 — 37
Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 4 — 50
Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 2 1 70
DHC-6 Twin Otter 2 — 19
Total 20 1

Destinations

Aurora started operations on 8 December 2013 serving the Khabarovsk–Krasnoyarsk route.[12] As of April 2015, Aurora flies internationally from its three bases located in Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Vladivostok. The international network includes Beijing, Busan, Harbin, Hong Kong, Sapporo, Seoul, and Tokyo.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Montag-Girmes, Polina (6 January 2016). "Russia’s Aurora Airline receives first Bombardier Q400". Air Transport World. Archived 10 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "New Aurora Airline Set to Serve Far East". The Moscow Times. 6 November 2013. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013.
  3. ↑ Montag-Girmes, Polina (11 November 2015). "Aeroflot subsidiary Aurora Airlines wins IOSA approval". Air Transport World. Aurora CEO Konstantin Sukhorebrik said, "IOSA certificate is mandatory standard for airlines operating in the world market. Aurora is a part of Aeroflot Group, which has very high safety standards. Archived 14 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. 1 2 3 Borodina, Polina (6 November 2013). "Aeroflot subsidiary Aurora Airline set to launch operations". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 7 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Baklitskaya, Kate (7 November 2013). "New airline offers the world a route to some of Russia's remotest and most exotic destinations". The Siberian Times. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013.
  6. ↑ Montag-Girmes, Polina (9 June 2015). "Russia’s Aurora Airline to double passengers, fleet in 2018". Air Transport World. Archived 11 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ Borodina, Polina (25 October 2013). "Aeroflot provides a $13.5 million loan for Far East subsidiary". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013.
  8. ↑ Montag-Girmes, Polina (1 February 2016). "Polina Montag-Girmes". Air Transport World. Archived 9 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. 1 2 Montag-Girmes, Polina (4 May 2016). "Aeroflot subsidiary Aurora Airline 1Q traffic up 22%". Air Transport World. Archived 6 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ Montag-Girmes, Polina (17 July 2015). "Russia’s Aurora Airline to get five Bombardier Q400s". Air Transport World. Archived 17 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ "New Aurora Airline Set to Serve Far East". WebCite. The Moscow Times. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "Aurora Begins Khabarovsk – Karsnoyarsk [sic] Service from Dec 2013". Airline Route. 17 December 2013. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013.
  13. ↑ Montag-Girmes, Polina (1 April 2015). "Russia’s Aurora Airline to increase international services". Air Transport World. Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine.

External links

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