Ak Bars Aero

• July 10, 1953 - The Bugulma Air Enterprise was founded. This year, air mail began between the Bugulma airfield (which later became the airport) and Kazan on the An-2 and Po-2 planes of the Kazan airline.
• June 14, 1957 - the first passenger flights on the Li-2 and Il-14 planes of the Kazan airline are opened. Bugulma airport is transferred to a round-the-clock operation.
• 1957-1972 - An An-2 aircraft link is placed at the Bugulma airport, and after some time it has become an air squadron. The Bugulminsky Joint Aviation Squad is formed, which is part of the Volga Department of Civil Aviation of the USSR.
• 1972 - The Bugulma airline was one of the first in the country to receive the first passenger jet aircraft for local Yak-40 airlines, capable of comfortably carrying up to 32 passengers per 1,500 km at a speed of up to 500 km / h. The main runway was reconstructed, the apron was expanded, a whole complex of airport buildings, a passenger airport terminal, a hotel, a hangar for aircraft repair and the building of an aviation technical base were built.
• 1972-1986 - daily regular flights open Bugulma-Kazan, Bugulma-Moscow, Bugulma-Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Bugulma-Kuybyshev (Samara), Bugulma-Tyumen, Bugulma-Surgut. The number of Yak-40 fleet reaches 27 units, so the Bugulma airline becomes one of the largest operators of this type of aircraft in the country.
• 1986-1991 - the reconstruction of the Bugulma airport begins, which is necessary to receive new, larger Tu-154 and Yak-42 aircraft . For this, the construction of a new runway 2750 × 45 m in size starts in parallel with the main one, work is underway to expand the apron and modernize the airfield complex.
• 1991-1993 - In connection with the difficult economic situation in the country, financing of the enterprise by the state drops sharply. Reconstruction of the airport and the construction of a new runway are stopped and frozen. The number of flights drops sharply, passenger traffic decreases, the number of airline employees decreases, economic indicators fall. The enterprise is on the brink of survival.
• 1993-2005 - the Bugulma Aviation Enterprise OJSC was formed, which includes the airline and the Bugulma airport with a complex of airfield facilities.
• 2005-2009 - Bugulma Aviation Enterprise OJSC became part of Ak Bars Holding Company OJSC, which served as a new impetus for the development of the airline. The Bugulma airport was reconstructed, ground equipment was upgraded, the ATB service hangar was repaired, the apron was reconstructed, repaired and extended by 400 m the main runway, all this allowed the airport to accept aircraft such as the Bombardier Challenger 604 and Bombardier CRJ-200.A helicopter branch is being organized at Kazan Airport, the fleet of which includes Mi-8 MTV-1 helicopters, Robinson R44 and Bell 407 .
• In 2010, the airline changed its brand to AK BARS AERO OJSC. As part of the fleet modernization and renewal program, 7 regional-class Bombardier CRJ-200 LR aircraft with a flight range of up to 2820 km (up to 3700 km with partial load) were purchased, Yak-40 aircraft were repaired and upgraded to the Yak-40D variant with a range flights up to 2300 km, which allowed the airline to enter the federal air transportation market and open new flights from many cities of Russia. In particular, new flights appeared from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhnekamsk, Kaliningrad, Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk, Novosibirsk and other large cities.
• In 2011, the airline, for the first time in its history, began to operate international charter flights to resorts in Western Europe and the Middle East. The first regular international flights appeared to Baku from Nizhnekamsk, to Munich from Kazan. At the same time, the airline continues to develop regional transportation in the central part of Russia: flights are operated from Bugulma, Penza, Yoshkar-Ola and Tambov. The direction of business transportation is developing: new aircraft Challenger 604, Challenger 605, Challenger 850 were added to the business aviation fleet. To maintain its fleet of foreign aircraft CRJ-200 at Bugulma airport, its own base for periodic maintenance certified by EASA PART- was opened 145.
• In 2013, the airline withdrew the Bugulma airport and converted it into a separate legal entity of Bugulma Airport LLC ^[1] .
• On December 25, 2013, the airline was selected as a consolidator of air transportation in the Volga Federal District for 2014-2016 ^[2] .
• After the crash of the Tatarstan Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft at the Kazan airport, some of the ships were transferred to the balance of Ak Bars Aero Airlines ^[3] .
• On January 1, 2015, in order to optimize costs, the airline suspended interregional flights for an indefinite period, and scheduled flights on January 12 ^[4] . The operator’s certificate was suspended by the Federal Air Transport Agency on January 13, 2015 ^[5] .
• On January 29, 2015, an initial bankruptcy procedure was introduced in relation to the airline - observation ^[6] .
• On April 16, 2015, the operator’s certificate was revoked. Fleet and other property transferred to the new airline UVT Aero .

As of December 31, 2014, the airline fleet has 26 aircraft.

Aircraft:

• 15 x Bombardier CRJ-200 LR (VQ-BHF, VQ-BHG, VQ-BHH, VQ-BHI, VQ-BHJ, VQ-BJZ, VQ-BLZ, VQ-BOP, VQ-BOM, VQ-BOQ, VQ- BOU, VQ-BOL, VQ-BOJ, VQ-BOT, VQ-BOR)
• 4 x Yak-40 (RA-87447 (VIP), RA-87494 (VIP), RA-87908 (VIP), RA-87938 (VIP) in storage at the Bugulma airport).
• 2 x Tu-154 (RA-85833, RA-85799)
• 1 x Bombardier Challenger 605 (EI-TAT ^[7] )
• 1 x Bombardier Challenger 850 (RA-67232)

Previously, the fleet also had 10 Yak-40s (RA-87849, RA-88182, RA-87588, RA-87247, RA-87517 (VIP), RA-87342 (VIP), RA-87227 (VIP), RA-87209 , RA-88165, RA-87239 (Monument at Bugulma Airport)) and 15 Cessna-208B / EX Grand Caravan (RA-67173, RA-67174, RA-67175, RA-67176, RA-67177, RA-67178, RA -67179, RA-67180, RA-67181, RA-67182, RA-67183, RA-67184, RA-67185, RA-67186, RA-67187).

Helicopters:

• 1 x Robinson R44 (RA-04160)
• 1 x Bell 429 (RA-01602)
• 1 x Eurocopter EC 135 (RA-04850)

Since January 2015, the airline ceased operations ^[4] . The operator’s certificate was suspended by the Federal Air Transport Agency ^[5] . An observation has been introduced in relation to the airline - the initial bankruptcy procedure ^[6] .

Before its bankruptcy, the airline operated flights in the following areas.

Regular flights

• Moscow-Domodedovo
• St. Petersburg
• Ufa
• Omsk
• Kaliningrad

Charter Flights

France

• Ajaccio

Italy

• Verona
• Grosseto
• Pisa

Finland

• Kuusamo
• Kittilä
• Rovaniemi

Austria

• Klagenfurt

Croatia

• Split
• Rijeka
• Dubrovnik

Norway

• Bergen

• On September 9, 2009, the Yak-40 aircraft, which operated the Kazan – Aktobe route, made an emergency landing at Aktobe airport for technical reasons. The plane rolled 45 meters outside the strip. Onboard there were 8 passengers and 4 crew members. The plane is restored.
• On December 7, 2010, a CRJ 200 aircraft operating on the Bugulma – Moscow (Domodedovo) route made an emergency landing at the airport of departure due to the non-closure of the front landing gear post after takeoff. Onboard there were 42 passengers and crew.
• On July 20, 2011, on a CRJ-200 airplane operating on the route Novosibirsk – Chelyabinsk – Kazan, the wheel of the left landing gear burst when landing at the Chelyabinsk airport. Onboard there were 47 passengers and crew. The plane is restored.
• On February 27, 2012, a Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft operating on the Moscow-Chelyabinsk route destroyed the pneumatic device on one of the landing gears. The crew managed to land the plane. Onboard there were 48 passengers and 4 crew members. The plane was restored.
• On April 6, 2012, at about 11:30 Moscow time, at Novosheshminsk , the Bell-407 helicopter with tail number RA-01899 lost communication and the emergency radio beacon installed on it worked ^[8] . Later, helicopter fragments were found near the Kazan-Orenburg highway near settlement Blagodatnoe. The pilot died. The presumptive cause of the disaster was low cloudiness ^[9] .
• On April 23, 2012, the Yak-40 aircraft, which operated the Bugulma – Sochi flight, was forced to return to the departure airport shortly after takeoff due to the failure of one of the engines. Made an emergency landing. Onboard there were 13 passengers and crew.
• On May 5, 2012, a CRJ-200 aircraft operating on the route St. Petersburg - Astrakhan made an emergency landing at the Voronezh airport. The windshield snapped. Onboard there were 56 passengers and crew.
• On September 2, 2012, the Bombardier CRJ-200 plane, which operated the Kazan-St. Petersburg flight, was forced to return to the departure airport shortly after takeoff. In flight, the windshield of the cockpit burst. Made an emergency landing. Onboard there were 40 passengers and 3 crew members. ^[ten]
• On December 2, 2012, the CRJ-200 aircraft flying the Kazan – Nizhnekamsk route, after landing at the destination airport, rolled out of the runway. Fortunately, there was only a crew on board, there were no passengers. ^[ten]
• On November 23, 2013, the CRJ-200 aircraft, which operated the route Nizhnekamsk - Novy Urengoy, was forced to go to the second round when approaching at the destination airport. The left landing gear did not come out. After running out of fuel and a control span over the runway, the aircraft made an emergency landing. Onboard there were 6 passengers and crew. ^[ten]
• July 7, 2014 at 14:50 in the area of ​​the village of Sloboda, Arkhangelskaya, Novosheshminsky district, during the distillation to the base, a light helicopter Robinson R44 RA 04288, owned by Ak Bars Aero, made a hard landing. The helicopter pilot was seriously injured and was taken to hospital, the aircraft was destroyed. According to the airline, the cause of the incident was adverse weather conditions ^{[11] [10]}
• On July 24, 2014, the CRJ-200 aircraft, which operated the Kazan-St. Petersburg route, was forced to make an emergency landing at the departure airport after fuel was exhausted. The landing gear did not clean. Onboard there were 45 passengers and crew ^[10]
• November 28, 2014 the plane Cessna-208B, performing a flight on the route Kazan - Saratov, was forced to interrupt the take-off. According to preliminary information, during the take-off run the plane turned to the right. Fortunately, there was only a crew on board, there were no passengers on board. ^[10] .
• On December 21, 2014, the CRJ-200, which operated the Kazan-Moscow flight, was soon forced to land at the departure airport shortly after takeoff. The windshield of the cockpit burst. Onboard there were 20 passengers and crew ^[10] .

• Official website of the airline
• Air Transport Division on the website of Ak Bars Holding Company OJSC
• The youngest commander of the CRJ-200