avia.ua | 2010

(TOP)
Airline - avia.ua
Aircraft - Boeing 767-300ER | LN-MGG
Delivered to Aerocontinentale, 1991
Sold to Atlantic Charter, 2000
Leased to Moscavia, 2000
Subleased to avia.ua, 2010
Returned to Moscavia, 2014
Stored at Moscow Domodedovo International Airport, 2020
Returned to Atlantic Charter, 2020
Sold to Consolidated Express, 2020
Converted to 767-300BCF, 2020
Livery - Standard 2010
Country - Ukraine

(BOTTOM LEFT)
Airline - avia.ua
Aircraft - Boeing 737-300 | EI-PTA
Delivered to Pacific Western, 1988
Sold to AerCap, 2005
Leased to Moscavia, 2005
Subleased to avia.ua, 2010
Returned to Moscavia, 2014
Subleased to Russian Sky, 2014
Returned to Moscavia, 2020
Stored at Perm Bolshoe Savino International Airport, 2020
Livery - Standard 2010
Country - Ukraine

(BOTTOM RIGHT)
Airline - avia.ua
Aircraft - Boeing 737-700 | EI-KEP
Delivered to Moscavia, 2010
Leased to avia.ua, 2010
Returned to Moscavia, 2014
Leased to Russian Sky, 2014
Livery - Standard 2010
Country - Ukraine

Aiming to expand its presence in Eastern Europe and make use of an opportunity he had been eyeing for several years, Oleg Baghdassarian set up avia.ua in 2010, operating a total of twelve aircraft: two 767-300ERs, six 737-300s, and four 737-700s. All were leased or subleased from Moscavia - the 737-300s and 767s were taken out of the fleet and repainted, while the four 737-700s were brand new, delivered from Boeing in 2010 and transferred over to the new Ukrainian subsidiary straight away. The 767s were from the set of six leased from Atlantic Charter since 2000, originally configured in a premium setup with First Class, but converted to a much less premium-dense configuration when transferred to avia.ua (with capacity for thirty in Business Class and 262 in Economy - see seatmap below). The airline's name was pronounced as "avia Ukraina" [air Ukraine], but written in the form of a web address. Its livery was basically a Ukraine-ized version of the Moscavia one, with red switched for yellow, but most details remaining the same, and its flights were partially staffed with Moscavia crews who rotated between operating for the two airlines.

Avia.ua was intended as a hybrid LCC and full-service carrier - it based its fleet of 737s in various Ukrainian cities (like Odessa, Sevastopol, Donetsk, Kharkov, and obviously Kiev), operating flights between them on domestic routes, as well as to many Russian cities and several major European destinations. Thus, it transported Ukrainians around the country and region, as well as non-Ukrainians to Ukrainian business centers and resort cities. As said above, it also played an LCC role, selling cheap tickets to Spanish, Greek, Turkish, Middle Eastern, etc holiday destinations. Both 737s and 767s were used for these flights, with the 767s exclusively being flown on leisure routes to Vietnam, Thailand, Tanzania, islands in the Indian Ocean, and (occasionally) Atlantic islands like Tenerife. Like Moscavia, avia.ua also operated charter flights, and partnered with Ukrainian tour operators to provide package holidays.

While the concept was initially successful and profitable, the Ukrainian revolution of 2014 - which began with the Euromaidan protests, led to the ouster of President Yanukovich and his escape to Russia, and ended with a civil war in Eastern Ukraine, the Russian annexation of Crimea, and severing of diplomatic relations plus an air travel ban between the two countries - quickly put an end to avia.ua. It's close ties to Moscavia, Russian-speaking (and in some cases just Russian) crews, and total reliance on a fleet leased entirely from a Russian-based airline (not to mention the fact that it was owned by that Russian airline), all made it impossible for the carrier to continue flying, and it ceased operations in September 2014.