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Ukraine International Airlines PJSC, often shortened to UIA (Ukrainian: Авіакомпанія Міжнародні Авіалінії України, romanized: Aviakompaniya Mizhnarodni Avialiniyi Ukrayiny, IPA: [ɑwijɐkomˈpɑn⁽ʲ⁾ijɐ miʒnɐˈrɔd⁽ʲ⁾n⁽ʲ⁾i ˌɑwijɐˈl⁽ʲ⁾in⁽ʲ⁾iji ʊkrɐˈjinɪ]), was the flag carrier and the largest airline of Ukraine,[1] with its head office in Kyiv[2] and its main hub at Kyiv's Boryspil International Airport. It operates domestic and international passenger flights and cargo services to Europe, the Middle East, the United States,[3] Canada,[4] and Asia. Due to Russia's 2022 invasion, all flights have been cancelled since 24 February 2022. The airline has ceased all operations, and the fleet has been parked at Kyiv Boryspil except for one Embraer 190, UR-EMC, parked in Odessa. The airline won't operate until the war ends and the ban on civilian flights in Ukrainian airspace is lifted. Resumption of operations also depends on whether the fleet of aircraft—or a sufficient share of it—remains intact throughout the war.
 | This article needs to be updated. (April 2024) |
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| Founded | 1 October 1992 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 1994 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 30 October 2023 (Temporarily) | ||||||
| Hubs | Kyiv–Boryspil | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Panorama Club | ||||||
| Fleet size | 11 | ||||||
| Destinations |
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| Parent company | Capital Investment Project LLC (74%) | ||||||
| Headquarters | Kyiv, Ukraine | ||||||
| Key people | Kyryl Zvonarov, President | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
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Early history
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It was established as an alternative to Ukraine Airlines, a remnant of the Soviet Era in which each country had an operating airline under financial and commercial control of Aeroflot's main office in Moscow until the Soviet Union broke up and the airliners on the ground at each airport became the property of the state in which they were grounded. In early 1992, the then Minister for Aviation in Ukraine reached an agreement on the lease of 2 B737-400s from Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA), an Irish aircraft-leasing company, and the establishment of a new airline to operate at "internationally acceptable standards of Safety, Reliability, and Service between Ukraine and Europe."
In September 1992 GPA and the new airline appointed Dublin-based International Aviation consultancy Avia International to lead the establishment and launch of the airline. Working closely with selected ex-staff of Ukraine Airlines, the joint team succeeded in launching flights to multiple destinations on schedule, beginning with a Kyiv-London flight on 25 November 1992. Other routes inaugurated in this period connected Kyiv with Berlin, Paris, Frankfurt, Vienna, and Amsterdam.
It became one of the first "joint ventures with foreign capital" in Ukraine and the first airline in the former Soviet Union to use then-new Boeing 737-400.[citation needed] The founding shareholders were the Ukrainian Association of Civil Aviation and GPA.
The airline began cargo operations with a Boeing 737-200 on 13 November 1994 to London and Amsterdam.
In 1996, Austrian Airlines and Swissair became shareholders, investing US$9 million in new equity.[citation needed]
In 2000, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development became a shareholder by investing $5.4 million. In 2006, UIA adopted a new classification system for freight operations[clarification needed] which allowed the airline to carry a wider range of goods, ranging from live animals to fresh food and valuable objects. Additionally, an express service was introduced to meet the needs of customers wishing to use expedited cargo-delivery services.[citation needed]
Developments since 2013
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In the first half of 2013, the airline's patronage rose by 60% to 2,200,000 passengers. According to the company's president, Yuri Miroshnikov, UIA planned to achieve the same 2013 yearly results (i.e. to reach annual patronage of 4,400,000).[5] Also in 2013, due to the demise of competitor Aerosvit, UIA launched new flights from Ukraine to Baku, Azerbaijan; Yerevan, Armenia; Larnaca, Cyprus; Munich, Germany; Warsaw, Poland; Vilnius, Lithuania; Prague, Czech Republic; Athens, Greece; Batumi, Georgia; Moscow (Sheremetyevo Airport), Yekaterinburg, Saint Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Nizhnevartovsk, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, and Sochi in Russia; and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.[6] On 25 April 2014, UIA began non-stop flights from Kyiv to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, United States.[7]
In October 2015, the Russian government banned UIA from flying to Russian destinations as a response to a ban by the Ukrainian government on Russian airlines flying into Ukraine.[8] Russia had annexed Crimea in 2014.
Since June 2016, most of UIA's international flights are sold with the basic "hand luggage-only tariff." If passengers booking this tariff want to check-in luggage, the airline charges fees up to US$60 per flight.[9] Also, since the northern-hemisphere summer of 2016, UIA wet-leased an ERJ 145 from Dniproavia (also part of the Privat Group) for daily services to Chernivtsi (because the condition of the airport there doesn't allow E-190 and B737-operations).[10]
On 14 June 2016, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine had the offices of UIA searched because of an investigation by the Bureau into passenger fees not paid to the State Aviation Fund.[11]
In March 2018, Ukraine International announced a fleet modernization plan. While the first of three pre-owned Boeing 777-200ERs had already been delivered, the airline expected several new Boeing 737 and Embraer 195 aircraft during the year to replace its last Boeing 737 Classics.[12]
Ukraine International ceased its membership[13] of the Flying Blue rewards program on January 1, 2019. UIA expected losses of approximately US$50 million for 2019 and implemented cost-saving measures, according to the new CEO.[14]
In September 2021, UIA announced plans to add two Boeing 777-300s to their fleet, primarily for charter operations.[15]
Suspension of operations
When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the Ukrainian government closed Ukraine's air space for commercial airline operations, severely affecting Ukraine International's operations. The airline suspended their flights from 24 February of that year, hoping to restart them by 23 March,[16][17][18] before extending the suspension until the end of May 2022. Castellón–Costa Azahar Airport in Spain became a storage facility for their fleet of six Boeing 737 aircraft.[19]
Further suspension extensions were periodically announced, with the current extension announced on 10 April 2023.[20][21][22][23][24][25] As of July 20, 2023, the suspension notice states that flights to and from Ukraine will be suspended "until martial law in Ukraine is lifted, and Ukrainian airspace is reopened".[25]
In 2023, the assets of the company were sold in an auction where Okealos Company LLC acquired the trademarks of the airline.[26] On 22 November, the Commercial Court of Kyiv City placed the company into bankruptcy administration due to debt owed to Ukreximbank. [27][28]
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Ownership
In February 2011, the Ukrainian government sold its 61.6% stake in UIA to three existing minority shareholders for ₴287 million (US$36.2 million). As of 26 July 2013, the airline was owned by Ukraine-based Capital Investment Project LLC (74%) and Cyprus-based Ontobet Promotions Limited (26%). Capital Investment Process, in turn, is owned by Ontobet.[29][30] The owners are represented by Aron Mayberg, a business partner of Igor Kolomoyskyi and the former CEO of the bankrupt AeroSvit Airlines, from which partially licences and planes were transferred to Ukraine International Airlines.[31]
Yuri Miroshnikov stepped down as president of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) on 12 September 2019 after 15 years of managing Ukraine's national carrier and working for UIA since 1993. Yevhenii Dykhne will take on the leadership role at UIA from 18 September 2019.[32][33]
Business figures
As of 22 June 2016, the ownership structure is registered as the following: 74.1627% Capital Investment Project, Ukraine and 15.9108% Ontobet Promotions Ltd, Cyprus.[34] 2016 was the second year in a row that the company made a loss, despite seeing growth in passengers. According to a February statement by company head Yuri Miroshnikov, UIA was struggling to stay profitable in the face of growing competition from budget airlines. In 2017, the company recorded a ₴304 million loss.[35] Ukraine International Airlines posted a net loss of almost ₴2.7 billion (about $100 million) in 2018, or about nine times more than it lost in 2017, Ukrainian media reported on 25 March, citing a UIA investor report.[citation needed] As of 2019, Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) was to slow down its expansion plans to stabilise its financial performance and climb out of the red.[36] The head of the state air traffic regulator of Ukraine stated at 8 November 2019 that UIA owes them ₴1 billion of unpaid fees and penalties.[37]
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Before suspending operations, UIA connected Ukraine to over 80 destinations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, as well as to New York City[3] and Toronto[4] from its base at Boryspil Airport, and also operated domestic flights. UIA served over 1000 flights per week.[38]
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) was forced to make some involuntary changes to its summer 2019 flight schedules, with reduced frequencies and capacity on some selected routes.[39] Although not officially a budget airline, many of UIA's worldwide flights are popular with travellers because of its low fares, they use Boryspil International Airport as a transport hub.[40]
Due to ongoing losses, the airline suspended flights to Amman, Riga, Beijing and Minsk in November 2019.[41] From 2020, flights to Bangkok and Krakow were also suspended.[42] Following the 2022 Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, the airline ceased operations temporarily and suspended all flights to all destinations.
Codeshare agreements
Ukraine International Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[43]
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Current fleet
As of July 2024[update], the Ukraine International Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[citation needed]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | E+ | E | Total | ||||
| Boeing 737-800 | 3 | — | 18 | — | 168 | 186 | Stored |
| Boeing 737-900ER | 1 | — | — | — | 215 | 215 | Stored |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 2 | — | 12 | 38 | 211 | 261 | Stored |
| Embraer 190 | 4 | — | 12 | — | 92 | 104 | Stored |
| Embraer 195 | 1 | — | 12 | — | 95 | 108 | Stored |
| Total | 11 | — | |||||
Former fleet
Ukraine International Airlines previously consisted of the following aircraft:[citation needed]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antonov An-148-100B | 3 | 2011 | 2013 | The only non-Boeing plane in the fleet |
| Boeing 737-200 | 3 | 1994 | 2005 | First aircraft type in the fleet back in 1992 |
| Boeing 737-300 | 9 | 1995 | 2018 | |
| Boeing 737-300BDSF | 1 | 2008 | 2017 | |
| Boeing 737-400 | 7 | 1993 | 2015 | |
| Boeing 737-500 | 13 | 2001 | 2018 | |
| Boeing 777-200ER | 3 | 2018 | 2020 | |
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On 8 January 2020, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran shortly after takeoff from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport. The IRGC attributed it to human error. The aircraft involved, UR-PSR, was a three-year-old Boeing 737-800. All 167 passengers and 9 crew members on board died.[47] The crash was the first and only fatal accident of Ukraine International Airlines.
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