MoscAvia | 1991-1995

(TOP)
Airline - MoscAvia
Aircraft - Ilyushin Il-86 | RA-86054
Delivered to Aeroflot, 1981
'Sold' to MoscAvia, 1991
Crashed at New York JFK, 1994
Livery - Standard 1991-1995
Country - Russian Federation

(BOTTOM)
Airline - MoscAvia
Aircraft - Tupolev Tu-154M | RA-85640
Delivered to Aeroflot, 1988
'Sold' to MoscAvia, 1991
Stored at Domodedovo International Airport, 2008
Scrapped at Domodedovo International Airport, 2014
Livery - Standard 1991-1995
Country - Russian Federation

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, rapid airline industry expansion began in Russia and other Soviet Bloc countries. Meanwhile, the behemoth government carrier - Aeroflot Soviet Airlines - struggled to continue operating amid the disappearance of government funding and the collapse of its regional branches. Seizing this opportunity, Oleg Baghdassarian unofficially founded MoscAvia, basing it in Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia. Tupolev Tu-154s (various variants), Yakovlev Yak-40s and -42s, and Ilyushin Il-86s were quickly acquired by the airline, and the first flight - from Moscow to St Petersburg - was operated in December 1991, several days after the Union was officially dissolved by Declaration 142-H. MoscAvia operated only domestic flights until mid-1992, when MoscAvia's first international flight to Geneva was operated by a Tu-154B. However, Baghdassarian's goal was to establish service to America, and this came to be on September 7th 1992, when an Il-86 operated the inaugural flight from Moscow Domodedovo to New York JFK. Later, direct service to Washington DC and service to Miami (operated via Shannon) would also begin. As MoscAvia overtook Aeroflot and continued to grow into the 2000s, Oleg Baghdassarian would become one of the richest men in Russia and a prominent member of the Oligarchy.

In the years since its founding, MoscAvia's roots have been questioned by many. These questions usually revolve around the matter of how its starting fleet was acquired, with journalists attempting to conduct independent investigations finding that many aircraft were simply flown from cities across Russia to Moscow and then repainted. Russian anti-corruption organizations have also found evidence of bribes to both the government and Aeroflot management at the time in order for both to turn a blind eye to the alleged theft of aircraft which were, at the time, government property. Oleg Baghdassarian has denied all allegations of illegal activity.


I wonder if anyone can guess what this brand is heavily inspired by?