Argued that for charter flights are serveddilapidated, obsolete, but large aircraft. Is it so? Let's try to consider the problem on the example of the airline "Katekavia". Aircraft fleet, year of manufacture, service at the airport and on board, conditions in the cabin - all this will be the topic of our article.
What is "Katekavia" and how is now called the carrier
At the moment, the airline more euphoniousthe name is Azur Air. So she began to be called from December 2014. But one should not consider Azur Air a new, not time-tested carrier. Previously, flights were carried out by Katekavia, whose aircraft fleet was small and far from new. But this firm carried out short flights. In general, they covered only the Volga and Siberian federal districts.
Based "Katekavia" in the capital's airport"Domodedovo". In 2012, a major airline, UTair, bought out a quarter of all shares of a small regional firm. After 12 months, 75 percent of the total share capital was already in her hands. In 2014, the former Katekavia became known as Azur Air and appeared in the person of UTair, a subsidiary carrier. But a year later the company became independent. In February 2016, it passed the tests of Rosaviation and was allowed to perform international regular flights.
Katekavia Airlines: fleet of aircraft
Of course, all these troubles with buying and sellingshares, renaming a legal entity and obtaining a license should not worry the average passenger. He is interested in other things. For example, which air fleet does the company have? How old are her planes? What amenities are on board? And, of course, do flights of this company often delay? And the incident? Have there been accidents in the history of Katekavia? The fleet of the company with this name after its re-registration in Azur Air was completely transferred to the carrier Turukhan. In the memory of "Katekavia" there were accidents and forced landings due to malfunctioning machines. But since Azur Air performed its first flight in December 2014 from Moscow to Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt), nothing of the kind has happened. This flight was carried out on the first Boeing 757-200 brand.
Flight directions
In less than three years of operation, Azur Air has grown out ofsmall regional firm in a major carrier. If in 2011 Katekavia, whose fleet was small, served only one hundred fifteen and a half thousand passengers, in 2015 their number was more than two million. Previously, the company had one base hub - Domodedovo. Now Azur Air has several native airports: Yemelyanovo (Krasnoyarsk), Pulkovo (St. Petersburg), Khrabrovo (Kaliningrad) and Rostov-on-Don.
The flight map of the company has expanded significantly.Azur Air delivers passengers to Morocco (Agadir), Thailand (Bangkok and Phuket), Spain (to Barcelona, Majorca and Tenerife), Bulgaria (Burgas and Varna), Tunisia (Djerba and Enfida), Greece (Heraklion and Rhodes), Vietnam (Nha Trang), Cyprus (Larnaca), the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana), Cuba (Varadero) and China (Sanya). In addition, the airline operates flights from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Chelyabinsk and Kazan to Sochi.
Anex Tour and its role in the development of the airline
In the direction of flight it is clear that Azur Airspecializes in transporting passengers to famous resorts in the world. Many airlines provide their aircraft to tour operators for charter flights. Entry into the large Turkish holding Anex Tourism Group allowed to update the Azur Air (formerly Katekavia) fleet. Charters have one feature. They must be spacious to carry as many passengers as possible and thereby reduce the cost of the flight. On the other hand, they should be as comfortable as possible. After all, people go on vacation and want the rest to begin with boarding the liner. Therefore, Azur Air ensures that its air fleet meets the requirements of the tour operator Anex Tour. Thus, the tourist specialization of the company directly affected the quality of the liners. They are not only roomy, but also comfortable, as well as relatively new.
Stamps aircraft and their age
You will not meet the old An-24 and Tu-134,that were in the Katekavia hangars. The fleet of aircraft, whose age on average is now (according to April 2017) is nineteen and a half years, has changed beyond recognition. The transformation of "Katekavia" in "Azur Air" was the incident that occurred in November 2014. Then the old Tu-134 froze to the runway at the airport Igarka. And the passengers were forced to push him to budge. Filmed video has long been the subject of jokes over the entire Russian air fleet on the part of detractors. Therefore, the air park is the “big corn” of the management of Azur Air. It ensures that all airplanes are of high quality and comfortable for passengers. Boeing, starting with the very first airline flight to Sharm el-Sheikh, have become favorite brands.
Characteristics of Katekavia liners
The fleet consists of nineteen cars.All of them, as already mentioned, belong to the Boeing family. If we talk about types, then Azur Air (formerly Katekavia) prefers brands 767-300 E R. They have eight of them at the airline. These are huge liners that accommodate up to 336 people. Also in the airline’s fleet there are eight Boeing 757-200s. They are smaller - 238 seats - but just as comfortable and reliable.
Recently, the airline acquired three "Boeing737-800 ". They are even smaller. Their capacity is 189 people. The colors of the Azur Air aircrafts are not striking but catchy. The white liner has a blue tail with a red ribbon. The oldest plane in the park is only twenty-six years old. It is" Boeing 767-300 "with a tail number VP-BUX. And the youngest liner, the Boeing 757-200" (tail number VQ-BEY) is only fourteen years old.
Traveler reviews about Azur Air liners
Туристическая (чартерная) специализация The airline has pushed her to one of the leading in Russia. During the year the company serves more than two million passengers. Therefore, many tourists leave feedback on the amenities provided by the Katekavia airline on board their ships. The modern-day Azur Air fleet consists of comfortable Boeing family cars. Mark 767-300 is used for medium and long-haul flights. Despite the fact that the cabin at full load accommodates three hundred passengers, there is no feeling of tightness. The passage between the seats and the distance between the rows of seats is sufficient to make every traveler feel comfortable during the flight. "Boeing" have good sound insulation, so that the roar of the engines is almost not audible. Salon liners has compartments for traveling business and comfort classes. A few words should be said about flight safety. According to the German audit company Jacdec, Azur Air is on the list of the best airlines in this area.
