VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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SR20
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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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Don't fool with Vladimir !


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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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A lot of various information tidbits about VIM Airlines (Aviation in Russia is like nowhere else in the world!):

Aeroflot to help VIM Airlines after it asked for financial aid from the state, reportedly to the amount of US$31.9 million. Maybe too little, too late, since the B777 that was chained in Liège has returned to the lessor AerCap in Lourdes/Tarbes.

VIM Airlines held talks with Citi (US), Veling (Mauritius) and MCAP (Japan), who will not withdraw their aircraft, despite VIM delaying a portion of payments.

VIM Airlines plans to make more than 30 export flights to Blagoveshchensk, Anadyr, Pevek, Irkutsk, Magadan, Sochi, Simferopol, as well as to Antalya, Yerevan, Changsha, and Tenerife.

VIM Airlines to no longer face bankruptcy proceedings for US$1.5 million, filed against the carrier by Deposit Insurance Agency (Russia), as the latter recalled the claim.

VIM Airlines will get US$8.1 million from the Russian government as a return of value-added tax for 3Q 2017. The carrier is seeking $13–14 million in state guarantees, as talks with banks fell through in June.
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SR20
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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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Vim Airlines to discontinue scheduled operations on october 16.
http://www.rusaviainsider.com/vim-airli ... -services/

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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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Court puts VIM Airlines CEO and chief accountant under house arrest

A Moscow court has placed director general of Russia’s debt-laden VIM Airlines, Alexander Kochnev, who is charged with embezzling the company’s funds, under house arrest till November 25.

Announcing the court ruling on Friday, Judge Elena Lenskaya of Moscow’s Basmanny District Court said while under house arrest Kochnev will be allowed to visit medical centres upon preliminary notice of investigators but will be prohibited from leaving home in any other cases, to speak with the media, or use the internet and postal services.

Earlier in the day, the company’s chief accountant Yekaterina Panteleyeva was also placed under house arrest, also until November 25.

According to investigators, the company’s top managers had been drawing funds from the company’s accounts, seeking to keep their embezzlement scheme going. What’s more, despite being unable to fulfil their commitments to their passengers, the company continued to sell tickets to customers.

A source close to the investigation told TASS that Kochenev and Panteleyeva are accused of selling tickets while being aware that the company could not cover its liabilities. "Kochnev and other persons knew about the bad situation the company was in it but took no steps to stop ticket sales and used the money at their own discretion," the source said.

The felony fraud investigation was launched after mass delays and cancellations of flights by VIM Airlines, also known as VIM-Avia, Russia’s tenth largest carrier. According to investigators, since September 22, the airline’s officials continued selling tickets despite knowing that the flights could not be carried out. They allegedly collected more than 1 million rubles ($17,000). Several thousand passengers were stranded as their flights had been cancelled.

The crime is punishable by a prison term of up to ten years.

The company’s owners, Rashid and Svetlana Mursekayevs, presumably fled Russia on the day when the criminal case was initiated. A source in the law enforcement agencies told TASS earlier they will be put on the wanted list.

According to Russia’s Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya), VIM-Avia’s overall debt amount to about seven billion rubles ($121.56).

On Thursday, Russia’s government allocated 98 million rubles ($1.7 million) from the Reserve Fund to Rosaviatsiya to service VIM-Avia’s aircraft, including paying for fuel and airport services. The company’s overall debt for fuel and airport services stand at 1.3 billion rubles ($22.57 million).

Source: Russian Aviation
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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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One VIM Airlines "rescue flight" departed today at 15 : 24 LT from Liège to Moscow !
A319 VQ-BTL as flight MOV868 : https://www.flightradar24.com/MOV868/f12e554

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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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FredATC wrote: 02 Oct 2017, 16:21 One VIM Airlines "rescue flight" departed today at 15 : 24 LT from Liège to Moscow !
A319 VQ-BTL as flight MOV868: https://www.flightradar24.com/MOV868/f12e554
Any Chinese tourists on that flight? Even in Moscow, they are still far away from home!

The rescue flights to Turkey were operated with governmental Tu-214 aircraft! But that was for Russian tourists...

And the A319 is a small plane compared to the usual 772
Image
© Ilya Martemianov, JetPhotos
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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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4 flights were normally scheduled to bring back to Moscow chinese people still in Europe.
And I don't know how they will get to China from Moscow !

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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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FredATC wrote: 02 Oct 2017, 18:16 And I don't know how they will get to China from Moscow !
Most probably few of them remember "The Long March"! :)

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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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Game over! The most recent VIM Airlines flight landed at BRU instead of Liège (see viewtopic.php?f=21&t=62278&sid=1e1a7ef9 ... 2144742fb0 ).

Contacted by Aviation24.be, a spokesman for Liege Airport explained that all the repatriation flights would fly from Brussels because it is a more important hub where it is easier to centralise passenger transfers.

The last VIM flight to Liege was carried out yesterday.
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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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Now let's see if Liege Airport ant U-Tour (the chinese tour-operator) can find a solution for the future ! Maybe with a new company (it will be the third one since the start of chinese flights at LGG 2,5 years ago !)

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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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VIM Airlines may be purchased by Boris Karlov, the former head of Aurora Investment Group (Russia), if the airline receives state support.
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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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FredATC wrote: 04 Oct 2017, 16:24 Now let's see if Liege Airport ant U-Tour (the chinese tour-operator) can find a solution for the future ! Maybe with a new company (it will be the third one since the start of chinese flights at LGG 2,5 years ago !)
Air Belgium!

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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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sn26567 wrote: 04 Oct 2017, 16:51 VIM Airlines may be purchased by Boris Karlov, the former head of Aurora Investment Group (Russia), if the airline receives state support.
That name rang a bell. Have a look at Boris Karloff (!) on Wikipedia! :)

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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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sn26567 wrote: 04 Oct 2017, 15:11 Game over! The most recent VIM Airlines flight landed at BRU instead of Liège (see viewtopic.php?f=21&t=62278&sid=1e1a7ef9 ... 2144742fb0 ).

Contacted by Aviation24.be, a spokesman for Liege Airport explained that all the repatriation flights would fly from Brussels because it is a more important hub where it is easier to centralise passenger transfers.

The last VIM flight to Liege was carried out yesterday.
According to FR24, MOV867 (B767 VP-BFI) seems to be flying from Moscow (VKO) to Liège ! ETA : 22h10 LT
Nothing mentioned on Liege Airport website.

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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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FredATC wrote: 05 Oct 2017, 20:26
sn26567 wrote: 04 Oct 2017, 15:11 Game over! The most recent VIM Airlines flight landed at BRU instead of Liège (see viewtopic.php?f=21&t=62278&sid=1e1a7ef9 ... 2144742fb0 ).

Contacted by Aviation24.be, a spokesman for Liege Airport explained that all the repatriation flights would fly from Brussels because it is a more important hub where it is easier to centralise passenger transfers.

The last VIM flight to Liege was carried out yesterday.
According to FR24, MOV867 (B767 VP-BFI) seems to be flying from Moscow (VKO) to Liège ! ETA : 22h10 LT
Nothing mentioned on Liege Airport website.
But then heads to Brussels Airport ? (like to other one a few days ago)

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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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Aeroflot resumed financing of VIM Airlines, following regulator approval.

VIM Airlines sale offer was made to businessman Alexander Lebedev, who is still evaluating it.
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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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luchtzak wrote: 05 Oct 2017, 20:36
But then heads to Brussels Airport ? (like to other one a few days ago)
Indeed, heading to BRU !

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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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Russian government has no final decision on VIM-Avia

Russia’s government has not made a final decision on the future of troubled airline VIM-Avia yet, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters on Friday. This reported by PRIME.

VIM-Avia had delayed a large number of flights from mid-summer to September 25, when it said it had no money to continue operations and had to stop charter flights. The government and Aeroflot pledged financial support to VIM-Avia. The accounts payable by VIM-Avia amount to about 10 billion rubles, of which 7 billion ruble debt is to banks, leasers and service providers.

Dvorkovich said that VIM-Avia’s flights cannot be stopped before it fulfils obligations to ship participants of the XIX World Youth and Students Festival in Sochi, which will take place from October 14 through October 22.

Dvorkovich said earlier that three domestic companies are interested in acquiring the troubled airline.

The Association of Tour Operators of Russia said that the crisis point to settle the situation has passed and that a total of 24,000 clients of VIM-Avia were shipped from September 28 to Thursday using capacities of the airline and tour operators. As of Thursday, 7,300 tourists are still abroad and will be carried back in accordance with their tour terms by other airlines.

Nine Russian tour operators have suffered from the stop of VIM-Avia’s charter flights, the association said. The aggregate portfolio of deposits held by the airline amounts to 700 million rubles.

The Federal Service for Labor and Employment has uncovered that VIM-Avia owes 262 million rubles to 1,338 employees and said that the arrears will be repaid.

Sergei Izvolsky, an aide to the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, said that VIM-Avia’s planes were arrested in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia on request of leasing companies, and 24 and 16 crew are stranded in the countries, respectively.

The official also said that national flagship carrier Aeroflot plans to pay for the people’s stay, and later deliver them to the airports of Dubai and Singapore and back home as soon as possible.

Source: Russian Aviation
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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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VIM Airlines aeroplanes stranded in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia were repossessed at the request of leasing companies.
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Re: VIM Airlines' first flight from Liège on 17 April 2017

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VIM Airlines is being allowed to complete several more flights after 15 October 2017 but the air carrier will curtail its active flight operations starting from the next week.

However, I doubt there will be more flights to Liège, or even Brussels.
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