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Founded | 1 October 1992 | ||||||
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Hubs | Kyiv–Boryspil | ||||||
Frequent-flyer program | Panorama Club | ||||||
Fleet size | 25[1] | ||||||
Destinations | 88 | ||||||
Parent company | Capital Investment Project LLC (74%) | ||||||
Headquarters | Kyiv, Ukraine | ||||||
Key people | Yevhenii Dykhne, President[2] | ||||||
Website | www |
Ukraine International Airlines PJSC, often shortened to UIA (Ukrainian: Авіакомпанія Міжнародні Авіалінії України, romanized: Aviakompaniya Mizhnarodni Avialiniyi Ukrayiny, IPA: [ɑwijɐkomˈpɑn⁽ʲ⁾ijɐ miʒnɐˈrɔd⁽ʲ⁾n⁽ʲ⁾i ˌɑwijɐˈl⁽ʲ⁾in⁽ʲ⁾iji ʊkrɐˈjinɪ]), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Ukraine,[3] with its head office in Kyiv[4] and its main hub at Kyiv's Boryspil International Airport. It operates domestic and international passenger flights and cargo services to Europe, the Middle East, the United States,[5] Canada,[6] and Asia.
History
Early history
Established as an alternative to Ukraine Airlines - a remnant of the Soviet Era in which each country had an operating airline under financial and commercial control of Aeroflot's main office in Moscow until the Soviet Union broke up and the airliners on the ground at each airport became the property of the state in which they were grounded. In early 1992, the then Minister for aviation in Ukraine reached an agreement on the lease of 2 B37-400's from GPA and the establishment of a new airline to operate to "Internationally acceptable standards of Safety, Reliability, and Service between Ukraine and Europe.
In September 1992 GPA and the new airline appointed the International Aviation consultancy - Dublin-based, Avia International - to project-lead the establishment and launch of the airline. Working closely with selected ex-staff of Ukraine Airlines the joint team succeeded in launching flights to multiple destinations on schedule - on 25 November 1992 with a Kyiv-London flight. Other routes inaugurated in this period were Kyiv to Berlin, Paris, Frankfurt, Vienna, and Amsterdam.
It became one of the first "joint ventures with foreign capital" in Ukraine and the first airline in the former Soviet Union to use then-new Boeing 737-400.[citation needed] The founding shareholders were the Ukrainian Association of Civil Aviation and Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA), an Irish aircraft-leasing company.
The airline began cargo operations with a Boeing 737-200 on 13 November 1994 to London and Amsterdam.
In 1996, Austrian Airlines and Swissair became shareholders, investing US$9 million in new equity.[citation needed]
In 2000, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development became a shareholder by investing $5.4 million. In 2006, UIA adopted a new classification system for freight operations[clarification needed] which allowed the airline to carry a wider range of goods, ranging from live animals to fresh food and valuable objects. Additionally, an express service was introduced to meet the needs of customers wishing to make use of expedited cargo-delivery services.[citation needed]
Developments since 2013
In the first half of 2013, the airline's traffic rose by 60% to 2,200,000 passengers. According to the company's president Yuri Miroshnikov, the UIA planned to achieve the same 2013 yearly results (i.e. to reach yearly traffic of 4,400,000).[7] Also in 2013, due to the demise of competitor Aerosvit, UIA launched new flights from Ukraine to Baku in Azerbaijan, Yerevan in Armenia, Larnaca in Cyprus, Munich in Germany, Warsaw in Poland, Vilnius in Lithuania, Prague in the Czech Republic, Athens in Greece, Batumi in Georgia, Moscow (Sheremetyevo Airport), Yekaterinburg, Saint Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Nizhnevartovsk, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi in Russia and Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan. [8]On 25 April 2014, UIA began non-stop flights from Kyiv to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.[9]
In October 2015, UIA was banned by Russian government from flying to Russian destinations as a response to a ban by Ukrainian government of Russian airlines from flying into Ukraine.[10]
Since June 2016, most of UIA's international flights are sold with the basic "hand luggage-only tariff". If passengers are booking this tariff and want to check in luggage, fees up to US$60 per flight will be charged.[11] Also since summer 2016 UIA wet-leased an ERJ 145 from Dniproavia (also of the group "Privat"; Dniproavia has since run out of business) for daily services to Chernivtsi (because the condition of the airport doesn't allow E-190 and B737-operations)[12]
On 14 June 2016, the offices of UIA were searched because of an investigation of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine concerning passenger fees not paid to the State Aviation Fund.[13]
In March 2018, Ukraine International announced a fleet modernization plan. While the first of three pre-owned Boeing 777-200ER had already been delivered, the airline expects several new Boeing 737 and Embraer 195 aircraft during the year to replace the last Boeing 737 Classics.[14]
Ukraine International ceased being a member[15] of the Flying Blue rewards programme as of 1 January 2019. UIA will continue to write losses with approximately 50m USD for 2019 and therefore implemented saving measures according to the new CEO.[16]
In September 2021, UIA announced to take over two Boeing 777-300 into their fleet which will be primarily used for charter operations.[17]
During early 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, which led to the Ukrainian government closing Ukraine's air space for commercial airline operations, severely affecting Ukraine International's own operations. The airline suspended their flights from 24 February of that year, hoping to restart them by 23 March,[18] before extending the suspension on March 29th until the end of May 2022.[19]
Corporate affairs
In February 2011, the Ukrainian government sold its 61.6% stake in UIA to three existing minority shareholders for UAH 287 million (US$36.2 million). As of 26 July 2013, the airline was owned by Ukraine-based Capital Investment Project LLC (74%) and Cyprus-based Ontobet Promotions Limited (26%). Capital Investment Process, in turn, is owned by Ontobet.[20][21] The owners are represented by Aron Mayberg, a business partner of Igor Kolomoyskyi and the former CEO of the bankrupt AeroSvit Airlines, from which partially licences and planes were transferred to Ukraine International Airlines.[22]
As of 22 June 2016, the ownership structure is registered as the following: 74.1627% Capital Investment Project, Ukraine and 15.9108% Ontobet Promotions Ltd, Cyprus.[23]
This is the second year in a row that the company has made a loss, despite seeing growth in passengers. According to a February statement by company head Yuri Miroshnikov, UIA is struggling to stay profitable in the face of growing competition from budget airlines. In 2017, the company recorded a UAH 304 million loss.[24]
Ukraine International Airlines posted a net loss of almost UAH 2.7 billion (about $100 million) in 2018, or about nine times more than it lost in 2017, Ukrainian media reported on 25 March, citing a UIA investor report.
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), the country's national carrier, is to slow down its expansion plans in order to stabilise its financial performance and climb out of the red.[25]
Yuri Miroshnikov is stepping down as president of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) on 12 September after 15 years of managing Ukraine's national carrier and working for UIA since 1993. Yevhenii Dykhne will take on the leadership role at UIA from 18 September 2019.[26][27]
The head of the state air traffic regulator of Ukraine stated at 8 November 2019 that UIA would owe them actually 1 billion UAH of unpaid fees and penalties.[28]
Destinations
UIA connects Ukraine to over 80 destinations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, as well as to New York City[5] and Toronto[6] from its base at Boryspil Airport, and also operates domestic flights. UIA serves over 1000 flights per week.[29] Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) was forced to make some involuntary changes to its summer 2019 flight schedules, with reduced frequencies and capacity on some selected routes.[30] Although not officially a budget airline, many of UIA's worldwide flights are popular with travellers because of its low fares, they use Boryspil International Airport as a transport hub.[31]
Due to ongoing losses, the airline suspended flights to Amman, Riga, Beijing and Minsk in November 2019.[32] From 2020, flights to Bangkok and Krakow were also suspended.[33]
On 24 February 2022, UIA canceled scheduled and charter flights to and from Ukraine through 23 March 2022 due to the closure of Ukrainian airspace to civil aviation.[34][35]
Ukraine International Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[36]
Fleet
Current fleet
As of May 2022, the Ukraine International Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[40][1]
Aircraft | In service |
Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B | E+ | E | Total | |||||
Boeing 737-800 | 12 | — | — | — | 186 | 186 | ||
Boeing 737-900ER | 4 | — | — | — | 189 | 189 | ||
215 | 215 | |||||||
Boeing 767-300ER | 2 | — | 12 | 38 | 211 | 261 | ||
Boeing 777-300[17] | — | 2[17] | 12 | 14 | 400 | 426 | ||
Embraer 190 | 5 | — | 8 | — | 96 | 104 | ||
Embraer 195 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 118 | ||
Total | 25 | 2 |
Former fleet
Ukraine International Airlines previously consisted of the following aircraft:[1]
Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Antonov An-148-100B | 3 | 2011 | 2013 | Returned to Antonov Airlines |
Boeing 737-200 | 3 | 1994 | 2005 | |
Boeing 737-300 | 9 | 1995 | 2021 | |
Boeing 737-300BDSF | 1 | 2008 | 2017 | |
Boeing 737-400 | 7 | 1993 | 2015 | |
Boeing 737-500 | 13 | 2001 | 2021 | |
Boeing 777-200ER | 3 | 2018 | 2020 |
Accidents and incidents
On 8 January 2020, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran shortly after takeoff from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport. The IRGC attributed it to human error. The aircraft involved, UR-PSR, was a three-year-old Boeing 737-800. There were 176 passengers and crew on board with no survivors.[41] The crash was the first fatal aviation incident for Ukraine International Airlines since beginning operations in 1992; however, it cannot be attributed to the airline in any way.[42]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Ukraine International Airlines Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "UIA Management Team - Ukraine International Airlines (UIA)". Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ^ "Ukraine International Airlines."
- ^ "Contact Ukraine International Airlines." Ukraine International Airlines. Retrieved on 21 June 2010. "ADDRESS: UKRAINE INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES 201-203, Kharkivske Road, Kyiv, 02121, Ukraine"
- ^ a b Koretska, Iana (6 June 2014). "Ukraine International Airlines launches direct Kyiv—New York flights". KyivPost. ISSN 1563-6429. LCCN sn97032040. OCLC 960875078. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
- ^ a b Liu, Jim (29 November 2017). "Ukraine International plans Toronto launch in June 2018". Routesonline. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
- ^ МАУ похвасталась ростом пассажиропотока и планами начать полеты в США. Korrespondent.net (in Ukrainian). UNIAN. 26 July 2013. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
- ^ "New Flights from Kiev to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cyprus, Poland, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Greece, Georgia, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan on flyUIA.com!". FlyUIA. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014.
- ^ "UIA opened ticket sales for Kiev – New York non-stop scheduled service". Ukraine International Airlines. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ Kiev, Agence France-Presse in (25 October 2015). "Russia and Ukraine suspend direct flights between countries". the Guardian.
- ^ "Official site of UIA – Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) (Ukraine)". FlyUIA. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- ^ "Ukraine Int'l Airlines to wet-lease an ERJ-145 this summer". ch-aviation.
- ^ "One airline fights to retain pre-eminence in Ukraine - Jun. 16, 2016". 16 June 2016.
- ^ rusaviainsider.com - Ukraine International Airlines adjusts 2018 fleet expansion plans 22 March 2018
- ^ "Flying Blue - Ukraine International". flyingblue.fr.
- ^ "Президент авиакомпании МАУ Евгений Дыхне: "Я знаю работу компании, как партнер со стороны аэропорта, и знаю, как пассажир. Многие вопросы в компании решены не в пользу комфорта пассажира"". www.unian.net.
- ^ a b c aerotelegraph.com (German) 10 September 2021
- ^ "Ukraine International Airlines suspends flights until March 23". Reuters. 27 February 2022.
- ^ "UPD. UIA continues suspending flights until may 31 inclusive – UIA (Ukraine)".
- ^ "UIA now under control of Cyprus based Ontobet Promotions". ch-aviation. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ^ "List of shareholders of UIA (in Ukrainian)". Ukrainian state register of shareholders. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- ^ "Aron Mayberg: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com.
- ^ "АТ "МІЖНАРОДНІ АВІАЛІНІЇ УКРАЇНИ" - Smida". www.smida.gov.ua.
- ^ "Ukraine International Airlines loses nearly $100 million | KyivPost - Ukraine's Global Voice". KyivPost. 26 March 2019.
- ^ "Ukraine International places financial stability ahead of fleet expansion". 8 February 2019.
- ^ "Loss-making Ukraine International Airlines appoints new president". www.aerotime.aero.
- ^ "New president for Ukraine International Airlines". Russian Aviation Insider. 10 September 2019.
- ^ "Голова Украероруху розповів про суму боргу авіакомпанії МАУ". Економічна правда.
- ^ "Информация о МАУ - Ukraine International Airlines (UIA)". www.flyuia.com. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ^ "B737 MAX delays force UIA to amend its flight schedules". 5 April 2019.
- ^ "Iran plane crash: Ukraine International Airline jet crashes killing 176". BBC News. 8 January 2020. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ "UIA ceases flights to Amman, Minsk, Riga, suspends flights to Beijing due to losses | KyivPost - Ukraine's Global Voice". KyivPost. 25 October 2019.
- ^ "UIA keeps axing flight program – Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) (International)". FlyUIA.
- ^ "UIA is temporarily suspending passenger traffic". Ukraine International Airlines. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "UIA suspends the flights until March 23". Ukraine International Airlines. 27 February 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "Profile on Ukraine International Airlines". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
- ^ Liu, Jim (15 June 2019). "Ukraine International / Air Astana begins codeshare partnership from June 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- ^ Liu, Jim (10 November 2017). "TAP Air Portugal / Ukraine International expands codeshare routes in W17". Routesonline. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ Liu, Jim (22 March 2018). "TAP Air Portugal expands Ukraine International codeshare in S18". Routesonline. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ flyuia.com - Fleet retrieved 22 September 2021
- ^ Moshtaghian, Artemis; Berlinger, Joshua; Guy, Jack (8 January 2020). "Ukrainian Boeing plane crashes in Iran after takeoff, killing 176 on board". CNN. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ Oliphant, Roland; Mendick, Robert; Nicholls, Dominic (8 January 2020). "Iran plane crash: All 176 passengers killed as Ukraine Boeing 737 crashes near Tehran". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
External links
Media related to Ukraine International Airlines at Wikimedia Commons