S7 Airlines: aircraft and routesS7 Airlines: aircraft and routes

History and development

The predecessor of S7 Airlines was Siberia Airlines, established in 1992 on the basis of the Novosibirsk Tolmachevo aviation unit. The airport and the city have long been an important part of its history.

In the mid-2000s, the carrier moved to the S7 Airlines brand. The new name was accompanied by the expansion of the route network and the emergence of a group of companies in which air transportation complemented technical and training services.

The history of the Novosibirsk aviation unit began before the airline itself: in 1957, a civil flight to Moscow departed from Tolmachevo for Tu-104. In the 1990s, Siberia was formed on the basis of this enterprise, and then the S7 brand familiar to passengers appeared.

The transformation of the Novosibirsk aviation unit into a federal carrier took more than one year. After the creation of Siberia in 1992, the company was privatized, joined IATA and launched its own training center. In 2010, S7 joined oneworld; this stage is important for the history of international partnerships, although the status of participation in the alliance subsequently changed.

As the growth of Siberia ceased to be a carrier only Novosibirsk. In the early 2000s, the company became one of the largest players in the Russian market, and later developed partner international routes. In 2019, S7 temporarily reverted to the name Siberia for a campaign to restore forests after fires; it was a public project, not a rejection of the main brand.

Milestones

• 1957: the first civilian Tu-104 flew from Tolmachevo to Moscow - this event is associated with the origin of the Novosibirsk aviation unit.
• 1992-1994: created on its basis "Siberia" received an independent status, and then was transformed into a joint-stock company.
• 2004: S7 Training training center with simulators for crew training began to work.
• 2005-2006: The company changed its name and exterior style to S7 Airlines.
• 2017: Regional Embraer 170 added a fleet of larger aircraft on lines with moderate demand.

Route networks

The S7 network is convenient for traveling between regions when there is no direct flight: a transfer at one of the hub airports allows you to continue to the east or west of the country. The company combines routes between major cities with shorter regional lines.

Novosibirsk remains an important hub for Siberian destinations, Moscow links the network to the west of the country, and Irkutsk helps serve eastern routes. Different in capacity aircraft allow you to combine short regional and longer main sections.

In 2001, Siberia joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This was the stage of entry of the regional carrier into the wider market; in the future, two large hubs - Moscow and Novosibirsk - allowed to collect complex trips from several flights.

The two hubs perform different geographical tasks. Domodedovo helps to collect trips from the European part of the country, and Tolmachevo is closer to Siberia and the Far East. For a passenger, such a structure is useful when there is no direct flight between cities: the transfer can be shorter than the way through a more remote Moscow node.

Aircraft and features

The fleet includes Airbus A320, Boeing 737 and Embraer 170. Within the group, S7 Technics is engaged in maintenance, and S7 Training is training flight and cabin personnel.

For passengers, the company develops the S7 Priority program and digital ticketing and check-in services. These services relate to travel, and the work of S7 Technics and S7 Training provides the technical and personnel side of flights.

In 2017, the S7 began using the Embraer 170 on regional lines. This type complemented the more capacious Airbus and Boeing and helped service routes on which the A320 family aircraft would be too large.

The S7 fleet changed with the network: in different years, the company used not only the current Airbus, Boeing and Embraer, but also the wide-body A310 and Boeing 767. The introduction of the Embraer 170 in 2017 was a notable step in the regional segment. More compact aircraft allowed you to open or maintain lines where a large liner is difficult to load regularly.

In addition to operating aircraft, the group developed its own infrastructure: S7 Training trains crews, and S7 Technics serves aircraft. These services are not visible in the schedule, but help to maintain the network. In the park over the years, different types have changed, so the historical list of S7 aircraft is much wider than the current collection.