KD Avia
Encyclopedia
KD Avia, sometimes called Kaliningrad Avia, was an airline
based in Kaliningrad
, Russia
. It operated scheduled services within Russia, CIS
and Europe. Its main base was Khrabrovo Airport
, Kaliningrad.
.
In 2005, the airline started a fleet renovation project and removed from operation its Tupolev Tu-134
and Tupolev Tu-154
aircraft replacing them with Boeing 737-300s. The first Boeing 737-300 was delivered to the airline in February 2005 and by the end of the year 6 were in operation. During 2005, the airline operated scheduled flights from Kaliningrad to Moscow and St.Petersburg, as well as charter flights from Moscow, Kaliningrad and other Russian cities to destinations in Turkey
, Egypt
and Europe
.
The airline was investing into building a new modern passenger terminal in Khrabrovo airport which would be the main transit hub in a hub-and-spoke system of routes, which the airline was planning to introduce on 15 June 2007. In the first stage, up to 13 cities of the Russian Federation would be connected with 13-15 cities of Europe by transit flights via Kaliningrad.
The concept of the airline is to connect Russia and other CIS countries with Europe.
On 4 September 2009, it was announced KD Avia will have its Operating Certificate revoked on 14 September 2009, with ceasure of all flights.
On 8 September 2009, KD Avia suspended its flights.
On 2 December 2009, the company's owner Sergei Grishchenko and executive director Leonid Itskov were charged with abuse of power and intentional bankruptcy (according to the prosecution, Grischenko and Itskov conducted a lot of deals with companies affiliated personally with Grishchenko that made no financial sense for KD Avia and led to company insolvency).
Asia
Europe
At 5 November 2008, the average age of the KD Avia fleet was 21.1 years (http://www.airfleets.net/ageflotte/KD%20Avia.htm).
On 29 May 2008, KD Avia placed a commitment with Airbus for the purchase of 25 A319-100s to replace the ageing 737-300s.
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
based in Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It operated scheduled services within Russia, CIS
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
and Europe. Its main base was Khrabrovo Airport
Khrabrovo Airport
Khrabrovo Airport is located north of Kaliningrad, east off the Zelenogradsk highway. The airport, part of which is still military, is a bare landing strip with few frills for passengers.-History:...
, Kaliningrad.
History
The airline was established on 8 October 1945 and started operations in 1946. It launched international services in 2004 and announced on 27 May 2005 that it was to change its name from Kaliningrad Avia to KD Avia, to differentiate itself from the state-owned company of the same name which operates from Khrabrovo AirportKhrabrovo Airport
Khrabrovo Airport is located north of Kaliningrad, east off the Zelenogradsk highway. The airport, part of which is still military, is a bare landing strip with few frills for passengers.-History:...
.
In 2005, the airline started a fleet renovation project and removed from operation its Tupolev Tu-134
Tupolev Tu-134
The Tupolev Tu-134 is a twin-engined airliner, similar to the American Douglas DC-9 and the French Sud Aviation Caravelle, and built in the Soviet Union from 1966–1984. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain other Russian airliners , it can operate from unpaved...
and Tupolev Tu-154
Tupolev Tu-154
The Tupolev Tu-154 is a three-engine medium-range narrow-body airliner designed in the mid 1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. As the mainstay 'workhorse' of Soviet and Russian airlines for several decades, it serviced over a sixth of the world's landmass and carried half of all passengers flown...
aircraft replacing them with Boeing 737-300s. The first Boeing 737-300 was delivered to the airline in February 2005 and by the end of the year 6 were in operation. During 2005, the airline operated scheduled flights from Kaliningrad to Moscow and St.Petersburg, as well as charter flights from Moscow, Kaliningrad and other Russian cities to destinations in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
The airline was investing into building a new modern passenger terminal in Khrabrovo airport which would be the main transit hub in a hub-and-spoke system of routes, which the airline was planning to introduce on 15 June 2007. In the first stage, up to 13 cities of the Russian Federation would be connected with 13-15 cities of Europe by transit flights via Kaliningrad.
The concept of the airline is to connect Russia and other CIS countries with Europe.
On 4 September 2009, it was announced KD Avia will have its Operating Certificate revoked on 14 September 2009, with ceasure of all flights.
On 8 September 2009, KD Avia suspended its flights.
On 2 December 2009, the company's owner Sergei Grishchenko and executive director Leonid Itskov were charged with abuse of power and intentional bankruptcy (according to the prosecution, Grischenko and Itskov conducted a lot of deals with companies affiliated personally with Grishchenko that made no financial sense for KD Avia and led to company insolvency).
Former destinations
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
- KazakhstanKazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
- AstanaAstanaAstana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
(Astana International AirportAstana International AirportAstana International Airport is an international airport in Kazakhstan located 14 km outside of the capital Astana.-History:The airport traces its history to 1931 when Astana's first airfield was constructed...
)
- Astana
- IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
- Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
(Ben Gurion International AirportBen Gurion International AirportBen Gurion International Airport , also referred to by its Hebrew acronym Natbag , is the largest and busiest international airport in Israel, handling 12,160,339 passengers in 2010...
)
- Tel Aviv
Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
- Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
- PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(Ruzyně International AirportRuzyne International Airport-Ruzyně today:Most flights depart Ruzyně Airport from the North Terminals . The South Terminals handle a few irregular flights, as well as VIP flights, special flights and small aircraft....
)
- Prague
- FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(Charles de Gaulle International AirportCharles de Gaulle International AirportParis-Charles de Gaulle Airport , also known as Roissy Airport , in the Paris area, is one of the world's principal aviation centres, as well as France's largest airport. It is named after Charles de Gaulle , leader of the Free French Forces and founder of the French Fifth Republic...
)
- Paris
- GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
(Berlin Tegel Airport) - DüsseldorfDüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
(Düsseldorf International AirportDüsseldorf International AirportDüsseldorf International Airport is the largest airport in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the third largest airport in Germany, handling 18.99 million passengers in 2010....
) - HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
(Hamburg AirportHamburg AirportHamburg Airport , also known as Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel Airport , is an international airport serving Hamburg, Germany.It originally covered . Since then, the site has grown more than tenfold to . The main apron covers . The airport is north of the centre of the city of Hamburg in the Fuhlsbüttel...
) - HanoverHanoverHanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
(Hannover Airport) - MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
(Munich Airport)
- Berlin
- ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
- MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
(Malpensa International Airport)
- Milan
- RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
- ChelyabinskChelyabinskChelyabinsk is a city and the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the northwestern side of the oblast, south of Yekaterinburg, just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on the Miass River. Population: -History:...
(Chelyabinsk Balandino AirportChelyabinsk Balandino AirportChelyabinsk Airport is an airport in Russia located 18 km north of Chelyabinsk. It services large airliners and can park up to 51 aircraft. It also serves as a secondary hub for S7 Airlines and Ural Airlines.-Passenger airlines:-Accidents and incidents:...
) - KaliningradKaliningradKaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
(Khrabrovo AirportKhrabrovo AirportKhrabrovo Airport is located north of Kaliningrad, east off the Zelenogradsk highway. The airport, part of which is still military, is a bare landing strip with few frills for passengers.-History:...
) Hub - KazanKazanKazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
(Kazan International AirportKazan International AirportKazan International Airport ; IATA: KZN, ICAO: UWKD) is an airport located in Tatarstan, Russia, located 25 km southeast of Kazan. The current airport main terminal building was opened in 1979, and has served international flights since 1985. The airport was renovated for the Kazan millenium...
) - MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
- Domodedovo International AirportDomodedovo International AirportMoscow Domodedovo Airport or Domodedovo International Airport is an international airport located in Domodedovsky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia, south-southeast of the centre of Moscow...
- Sheremetyevo International AirportSheremetyevo International AirportSheremetyevo International Airport , is an international airport located in the Moscow Oblast, Russia, north-west of central Moscow. It is a hub for the passenger operations of the Russian international airline Aeroflot, and one of the three major airports serving Moscow along with Domodedovo...
- Domodedovo International Airport
- OmskOmsk-History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes...
(Tsentralny AirportTsentralny Airport-New Fedorova airport:A new airport is built at Fedorova, North-West of Omsk. As of 2010, construction is stalled.-External links:*...
) - PermPermPerm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
(Bolshoye Savino AirportBolshoye Savino AirportBolshoye Savino Airport is an international airport in Perm Krai, Russia located 16 km southwest of Perm, in the village of Bolshoye Savino. It is the only airport in Perm Krai with regular scheduled passenger flights. The majority of flights are between Perm and Moscow...
) - Rostov-on-DonRostov-on-Don-History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...
(Rostov-on-Don AirportRostov-on-Don AirportRostov-on-Don Airport Aeroport Rostov-na-Donu is an international airport located 9 km east of the city of Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia...
) - Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
(Pulkovo AirportPulkovo AirportPulkovo Airport is an international airport serving Saint Petersburg, Russia. It consists of two terminals, Pulkovo-1 and Pulkovo-2 , which are located about and south of the city centre, respectively. The airport serves as a hub for Rossiya Airlines , and as focus city for Nordavia...
) - SamaraSamara, RussiaSamara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
(Samara Kurumoch Airport) - UfaUfa-Demographics:Nationally, dominated by Russian , Bashkirs and Tatars . In addition, numerous are Ukrainians , Chuvash , Mari , Belarusians , Mordovians , Armenian , Germans , Jews , Azeris .-Government and administration:Local...
(Ufa International Airport) - YekaterinburgYekaterinburgYekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
(Koltsovo Airport)
- Chelyabinsk
- SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
- BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
(Barcelona International AirportBarcelona International AirportBarcelona El Prat Airport , simply known as Barcelona Airport, is located southwest of the center of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, lying in the municipalities of El Prat de Llobregat, Viladecans and Sant Boi.The airport is the second largest in Spain behind Madrid Barajas Airport and the...
)
- Barcelona
- UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
- KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
(Boryspil International Airport)
- Kiev
- United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(London Gatwick AirportLondon Gatwick AirportGatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
)
- London
Fleet
The KD Avia fleet consisted of the following aircraft (at September 2009):| Aircraft | In Fleet | Orders | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 0 | 25 | - |
| Boeing 737-300 | 19 | 0 | 148 |
| Total | 19 | 20 |
At 5 November 2008, the average age of the KD Avia fleet was 21.1 years (http://www.airfleets.net/ageflotte/KD%20Avia.htm).
On 29 May 2008, KD Avia placed a commitment with Airbus for the purchase of 25 A319-100s to replace the ageing 737-300s.
Incidents and accidents
- On October 1, 2008, flight KD794 from BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
to Kaliningrad, operated by a Boeing 737-300 (registered EI-DON), made a wheels-up landing resulting in severe damage to the aircraft. On their second approach after a go-around, the crew forgot to lower the gear while manually switching off the related alarm and performed the wheels-up landing on its second approach to Kaliningrad. None of the 138 passengers and 6 crew on board was injured.