When choosing an air carrier, three factors play the main role: comfort, cost of flight, and reliability of the airline. To help you navigate a large number of offers on the air transportation market, we have compiled Russian airlines rating 2019 on safety.
It included the top 10 airlines selected according to:
- World Airlines Safety Index, compiled by the German audit firm Jacdec.
- World Airlines Ranked 2019 AirlineRatings.
- Statistical data 2018-19. by the number of aircraft and their novelty with Russian airlines.
- Customer ratings on various review sites.
10. Red Wings Airlines
Security Rating AirlineRatings - none.
The former "Airline 400" has established itself as a reliable Russian airline and at one time it was even a carrier of the Russian national football team. However, in 2012, a Tu-204 crash occurred at Vnukovo Airport, after which the Federal Air Transport Agency suspended the certificate of Red Wings Airlines as the operator of the crashed aircraft.
5 years after the license was renewed, the company had another incident. In 2018, the Tu-204-100 engine caught fire. The plane had to make an emergency landing in Ufa, none of the passengers and personnel of the airliner were injured.
Red Wings Airlines currently has 12 airliners with an average age of 16.4 years.
9. Nordwind Airlines
Security Rating AirlineRatings - none.
According to the Federal Air Transport Agency for 2017, Nordwind Airlines was in ninth place in the list of the largest airlines in Russia. The number of people who used its services exceeded 3.5 million. Three significant advantages of this carrier are low prices, excellent work of flight attendants and the availability of soft drinks.
An incident was connected with one of the Nordwind Airlines aircraft, after which the Federal Air Transport Agency prohibited all Russian civilian aircraft from flying over Syria until the end of the civil war. In 2013, pilots of a Sharm el-Sheikh-Kazan plane noticed explosions of two rockets fired from the ground (presumably). Fortunately, the plane was not injured.
There are 24 aircraft in the airline’s air fleet, the average age of which is over 12 years.
8. Yamal
Security Rating AirlineRatings - none.
One of the most reliable Russian air carriers in 2014 was awarded as the best helicopter operator, the best passenger carrier on domestic airlines and the best air carrier on regional routes.
As of the beginning of 2019, there are not too many aircraft in the Yamal fleet - 37 - but they are quite young, on average 11 years old.
Passengers respond positively to the professionalism of the pilots and praise the good work of the staff. However, they criticize Yamal for frequent delays and cancellations of flights.
7. Aurora
Security Rating AirlineRatings - none.
According to the user rating (reviews collected by the Tutu.ru service), the Aurora airline was in fourth place, thanks to the skill of the pilots, the friendliness and skill of the flight attendants, punctuality and value for money.
Aurora specializes in flights between the cities of the Far East and Siberia, but does not neglect the more exotic destinations such as Korea, Japan and China.
In the fleet of one of the best airlines in Russia for 2019, there are 21 airliners, their average age is 13.8 years.
6. UTair
AirlineRatings Safety Rating - 6/7
In 2017, the Federal Air Transport Agency named UTair the most punctual airline in Russia. According to the schedule, 98.8% of flights were completed.
Currently, UTair serves more than 150 destinations (of which 60 are only available to customers of this airline) and has a fleet of 65 aircraft. Among them there are Sukhoi Superjet 100, which serve a number of directions from Vnukovo (to Kazan Nalchik, Arkhangelsk and Ulyanovsk). The average age of aircraft is 16.9 years.
5. Ural Airlines
AirlineRatings Security Rating - 7/7
It is the fifth largest air carrier in the Russian Federation and is currently the only airline in the Ural region that can offer customers the choice of flights to two Moscow airports at once - Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo.
The Ural Airlines fleet includes 47 aircraft and a further 19 are ordered. The average age of aircraft is 14.2 years.
4. Victory
AirlineRatings Security Rating - 7/7
Even the capital Vrungel said: "As you call a yacht, so it will sail." And justifying its name, Pobeda Airlines successfully makes its way into the stormy sea of Russian business.
This subsidiary of Aeroflot has chosen a niche for budget transportation, and in this field feels very comfortable. As evidenced by the huge passenger traffic, the cheapest airline in Russia transported 7 million people in 2018 - and an impressive revenue, which for the 9 months of 2018 amounted to 26.4 billion rubles.
Currently, there are 23 aircraft in the Victory fleet and 27 more have been ordered. The average age of the operated liners is 3.7 years.
3. Russia
AirlineRatings Security Rating - 7/7
One of the “daughters” of the leader of the rating of the best Russian airlines is located in the Northern capital and carries out more than half of all air transportation from its hub Pulkovo airport. Its geography of flights includes over 140 destinations, including to the Far East and the Crimea.
Passengers praise this airline for the punctuality and excellent condition of the aircraft.
At the disposal of "Russia" is 63 aircraft, the average age of which is 13.1 years.
2. S7 Airlines
AirlineRatings Security Rating - 7/7
One of the two “Russians” included in the top 100 most reliable airlines in the world according to Jacdec. This Russian air carrier appeared in 1992 (originally called “Siberia”) and quickly became one of the best European airlines. And these are not allegations, but the opinion of the British agency SKYTRAX, which in 2013-2016 included S7 Airlines among the three best airlines in Eastern Europe and the five best regional European airlines.
In January 2019, there were 95 airliners in the S7 Airlines air fleet. Their average age is 10.3 years.
1. Aeroflot - the best airline in Russia
AirlineRatings Security Rating - 7/7
The second and last representative of Russia, awarded a place in the selection of the safest airlines according to Jacdec. This air carrier is constantly at the hearing, because its history began in the days of the USSR (since 1923); and for many representatives of the older generation, there is no alternative to Aeroflot.
Aeroflot has a vast fleet of aircraft - 253 airliners - and at the same time very young. The average age of the aircraft is 4.3 years. And by 2020, the best airline in Russia plans to expand its fleet with another 184 aircraft, with 126 of them being the latest Russian-made Sukhoi SuperJet-100s.
| Airline | IOSA audit | EU audit | No disasters | FAA Approval | ICAO Audit | Safety rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aeroflot | Yes | Yes | > 10 years | Yes | Yes | 7/7 |
| S7 | Yes | Yes | > 10 years | Yes | Yes | 7/7 |
| Russia | Yes | Yes | > 10 years | Yes | Yes | 7/7 |
| Ural Airlines | Yes | Yes | > 10 years | Yes | Yes | 7/7 |
| Victory | Yes | Yes | > 10 years | Yes | Yes | 7/7 |
