DALLAS — Today, in 1991, Russia's first privately owned Moscow/Domodedovo-based airline, Transaero (UN), began operations. Transaero was owned primarily by Aleksandr Pleshakov and his wife, Olga Pleshakova, who was the CEO of the airline for most of its existence.

Transaero started life as a charter carrier, with its first flight taking off from Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport (VKO), bound for Tel Aviv (TLV). Initially, its fleet comprised aircraft leased from flag carrier Aeroflot (SU).

Later in 1991, the airline received its first Ilyushin Il-86 and commenced scheduled flights. International links to TLV soon followed with domestic rotations from VKO to Norilsk (NSK), Kyiv (IEV), and Almaty (ALA).

A Large, Varied Fleet

The first Western-built jets arrived in April 1993 in the shape of Boeing 737-200s and later 757-200s. UN went on to operate various Western types, including Airbus A310 and A32 aircraft, Boeing 767, 747, and 777 aircraft, plus three McDonnell Douglas DC-10s.

Transaero also flew a number of Russian-built aircraft consisting of Tupolev TU-134, -154, -214, and -204 aircraft, as well as Yak-40 and -42 planes. Ambitious plans were announced in 2011 with an order for four Airbus A380 and four Boeing 747-8I aircraft.

Rising Debt

However, this large and varied fleet and rapid expansion put a great strain on the carrier. In March 2015, it was announced that the carrier had racked up debts of €1.1 billion. Russia was amid a major recession, with tourism to and from the country at an all-time low.

Both SU and S7 Airlines (S7) showed an interest in purchasing UN towards the end of 2015. Both deals fell through. UN filed for bankruptcy on October 1, 2015, and announced that it would cease all operations by December 15 of the same year. However, Russian authorities revoked its operating license on October 25.

In spring 2016, SU announced the cancellation of 13 routes, claiming they were not commercially sustainable. Rosaviatsia has granted SU and FV authorization to operate 32 former UN services under a new round of renewals.

In 2017, SU received permission to continue to fly a number of former UN routes for another year After the latter filed for bankruptcy in October 2015, the flag carrier and subsidiary Rossiya (FV) first gained traffic rights on 56 of UN's 156 services under interim arrangements established by the Federal Air Transport Agency.

That same year, the US Air Force entered into a contract with Boeing to purchase two undelivered Boeing 747-8s ordered by the defunct airline. The pair of planes have registration numbers N894BA and N895BA.

In September 2021, the Moscow Commercial Court extended UN's business failure until March 2022, in response to a motion made by Alexey Belokopyt, the airline's bankruptcy supervisor.

Featured image: Transaero became the first Russian airline to operate the Boeing 747 and flew the -200, -300, and -400 variants.