AiRUnion

Infobox Airline alliance
alliance = AiRUnion

size = 150px
launch_date = 2005
full_members = 5
sponsored_members = 0
future_members = 0
airports = 134
countries = 13
annual_passengers = 4
fleet = 100
key_people = Boris Abramovich (CEO), Alexander Abramovich (President)
website = http://www.airunion.ru
updated = February 2007

AiRUnion was a Russian airline alliance. It was the first airline alliance ever established in Russia. Member airlines and their affiliates enjoyed a high degree of co-operation in scheduling, ticketing, code sharing, flight transfer operations, frequent flyer program benefits, shared airport lounges, reducing costs, and sharing best practices. The union has become a single airline and according to unofficial information is in the process of negotiations to join Star Alliance.

History

This alliance was originally known as "AirBridge". In October 2004 Russian airlines KrasAir and Domodedovo Airlines set up a joint management company called AirBridge. KrasAir is owned by the city government of Krasnoyarsk (51%) and AirBridge management (49%) (Boris Abramovich - CEO and his brother, Alexander Abramovich - deputy CEO, no relation to Roman Abramovich). While retaining separate legal identities the airlines were planning to integrate their networks and services, as they are largely complementary. In April 2007 AirBridge had purchased Malév airline from Hungarian government. "Malev can still grow on the western markets with hard work, but the greatest opportunity is offered by linking with destinations in Russia and the Far East", said Boris Abramovich in an interview.Fact|date=November 2007 Boris Abramovich is also a CEO of AirUnion alliance.

The Abramovich brothers' aggressive expansion campaign led to the creation of AiRUnion alliance in 2005, the first airline alliance in Russia. It included KrasAir, Domodedovo Airlines, Omskavia, Samara Airlines and Sibaviatrans. All of the member airlines are virtually controlled by Krasair.Fact|date=November 2007 On May 3, 2007 the five members of the AirUnion alliance were rolled into a similarly named holding company, OAO AirUnion, in which the Russian government holds no less than 45% of the shares. [ [http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20070502/russia-aviation-merger.htm Putin OKs 5-Way Merger of Airlines - International Business Times ] ]

Although Malév is a Oneworld member, in early 2007 AiRUnion began a codeshare with Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa in its strategic expansion into European routes. [ [http://russia-ic.com/news/show/4361/ Aeroflot’s competitor becomes strategic partner of Lufthansa :: Russia-InfoCentre ] ]

AiRUnion is competing with S7 Airlines to be second (after Aeroflot) largest domestic carrier in Russia in 2007. AiRUnion carried 4.9 million passengers in 2006 compared to 8.75 million for Aeroflot. [ [http://news.ebookers.com/news/lufthansa-has-partnership-with-russian-airline-airunion/211/ Lufthansa has partnership with Russian Airline AirUnion ] ]

In future, as Boris Abramovich has explained, the company wants to use Yemelyanovo Airport in Krasnoyark as a hub between Europe, America and Asia.Fact|date=November 2007 AiRUnion will operate new western-made aircraft along with new models of Russian- and Ukrainian-built aircraft.

Member airlines

* Domodedovo Airlines
* KrasAir
* Omskavia
* Samara Airlines
* Sibaviatrans

Premium status

AiRUnion has one premium level, Premium, based on a customer's tier status in a frequent flyer program. Each member and regional airline recognizes AiRUnion Premium status, with only a few exceptions (mainly pertaining to airport lounge access). Status has no specific requirements; membership is based solely on the frequent flyer programs of individual member airlines.

Benefits of AiRUnion Premium membership:
* Free tickets
* Transportation of additional luggage
* Discounts of alliance program participants

Destinations

Russia

*Abakan
*Barnaul (Barnaul Airport)
*Baykit (Baykit Airport)
*Belgorod (Belgorod Airport)
*Blagoveshchensk (Ignatyevo Airport)
*Bodaybo
*Bratsk (Bratsk Airport)
*Chita (Kadala Airport)
*Chelyabinsk (Chelyabinsk Balandino Airport)
*Igarka (Igarka Airport)
*Irkutsk (Irkutsk International Airport)
*Kazan (Kazan Airport)
*Kemerovo (Kemerovo Airport)
*Khabarovsk (Khabarovsk Novy Airport)
*Komsomolsk-na-Amure
*Krasnodar (Pashkovsky Airport)
*Krasnoyarsk (Krasnoyarsk Yemelyanovo Airport)
*Mineralnye Vody (Mineralnye Vody Airport)
*Motygino
*Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport)
*Norilsk (Norilsk Alykel Airport)
*Nizhnevartovsk (Nizhnevartovsk Airport)
*Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod Strigino Airport)
*Novosibirsk (Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport)
*Novy Urengoy (Novy Urengoy)
*Omsk (Tsentralny Airport)
*Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Airport)
*Bor (Podkamennaya Tunguska Airport)
*Rostov-on-Don (Rostov-on-Don Airport)
*Samara (Samara Kurumoch Airport)
*Severo-Yeniseysk
*Sochi (Adler-Sochi International Airport)
*Saint Petersburg (Pulkovo Airport)
*Surgut (Surgut Airport)
*Tomsk (Bogashevo Airport)
*Tura (Tura Airport)
*Turukhansk (Turukhansk Airport)
*Ulan-Ude (Ulan-Ude Airport)
*Ufa (Ufa Airport)
*Vladivostok (Vladivostok International Airport)
*Voronezh (Chertovitskoye Airport)
*Yakutsk (Yakutsk Airport)
*Yekaterinburg (Koltsovo International Airport)
*Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport)

Asia

Central Asia

*Kazakhstan
**Almaty (Almaty International Airport)
**Karaganda
**Kostanai
**Shymkent
*Kyrgyzstan
**Bishkek (Manas International Airport)
*Tajikistan
**Dushanbe (Dushanbe Airport)
**Khujand
*Uzbekistan
**Bukhara (Bukhara Airport)
**Samarkand
**Tashkent (Yuzhny Airport)

East Asia

*China, People's Republic of
**Beijing (Beijing Capital International Airport)
**Tianjin (Tianjin Binhai International Airport)

Southeast Asia

*Thailand
**Bangkok

Southwest Asia

*Armenia
**Yerevan (Zvartnots International Airport)
*Azerbaijan
**Baku (Heydar Aliyev International Airport)
**Ganja
**Nakhichevan City

Europe

*Austria
**Vienna (Vienna Schwechat International Airport) (Starting March, 26 from Moscow and Krasnoyarsk)
*Germany
**Cologne (Cologne Bonn Airport)
**Frankfurt am Main (Frankfurt International Airport)
**Hannover (Hanover/Langenhagen International Airport)
**Stuttgart (Stuttgart Airport)
*Portugal
**Lisbon (Portela Airport)
*Ukraine
**Kiev (Boryspil Airport)
**Simferopol (Simferopol Airport)

North America

United States

*Miami (Miami International Airport) (beginning mid-2007)

References