Who is the owner of the transaero company. How the owners of Transaero lost their airline
Transaero is a private airline that began air transportation in December 1990. The company is among the top ten in the world in terms of flight safety.There are four classes of passenger service on regular flights of the airline.
A bit of history and semi-blematics
But during the crisis of 1998, the company had to sell 9 aircraft, leaving behind 8. These were rather shabby Boeing 737s (about 20 years in operation on average).
The company closed most of the flights, restructured debts, but remained afloat.
In subsequent years, the company receives new certificates, opens new routes, increases the fleet (up to 57 boards in 2010).
The company is the first to introduce fully electronic tickets.
The company signs multi-million contracts for the supply of equipment with Boeing, Airbus and Sukhoi's GSS.
The company was restructured, cost optimization, but the next crisis in 2008 brought all efforts to naught.
In 2009, it became known, according to the leaders of Transaero, that the company has negative capital, and this has been going on for at least 3 years.
ACT 3, extreme. From prison and from the bag do not renounce.
In 2014, according to some media reports, Ms. Pleshakova applied to the government with a request for a state guarantee for 10 billion rubles. The leadership of Transaero, in chorus, denied this information, providing reports and figures of a steady increase in profits.
However, a loan from VTB in the amount of 9 billion rubles was received, as well as state guarantees.
According to RBC, the list of Transaero's debts before the government meeting was as follows:
- VTB - 12.7 billion rubles
- Gazprombank - 8 billion.
- Novikombank - 8 billion.
- "Moscow Credit Bank" + Promsvyazbank - 7.5 billion.
- Sberbank - 6 billion.
- "Rosselkhozbank" - 6 billion.
As known on this moment, Aeroflot refused to buy Transaero. And at a meeting in the government, with the participation of Aeroflot, credit and leasing companies, no compromise was found.
The final
The final turned out to be natural. Transaero has always worked only for itself. The company did not make any compromises and negotiations with other members of the company. She pursued her policy of buying old aircraft and reducing the cost of tickets, and increasing passenger traffic at any cost. With some airline leaders, the Pleshakov clan also had personal disagreements, which amounted to hostility. With this approach, the company remained in a vacuum in the air transportation market, and as you know, you won’t last long in a vacuum.
Despite the obvious support of the authorities, from which all sorts of benefits and indulgences rained down on the company, Transaero got too carried away in the race for the leader. The company received state loans against promises to purchase Russian aircraft. But it was not in a hurry to buy the Tu-204, Tu-214 and SSJ 100. Transaero preferred to take aircraft on operational lease. In the carrier's fleet (for 2013), 67 aircraft were leased.
The company created an excess of aircraft, constantly increasing unprofitable routes, hoping to cover losses on international routes. Hoping for an increase in lines and passenger traffic.
But in 2013-2014 there was a hurricane crisis in the tourism industry. A wave of bankruptcy of tour operators, Western sanctions, the appreciation of Western currencies, a sharp reduction in the flow of passengers on foreign flights, finally undermined the barely holding company.
Already in 2014, the deterioration of the economic situation, the events in Ukraine, led the owners to the idea of selling the business.
From the initial price of $300 million, the rate dropped to $100 million six months ago.
According to some sources, Aeroflot may get 35 aircraft of the stagnating company. Leased aircraft will be transferred to other companies. And about 11,000 people of qualified Transaero personnel will be left without work.
The curtain.
The overhead lighting turns on in the hall, the audience in bewilderment get up from their seats and dejectedly go to the exit. The money has been paid, and not everyone will be able to return their hard-earned money for lost pleasure.
The air transportation market is very specific. It is influenced by many factors. Wars, epidemics, the rise in the cost of oil or its fall, and now the planes are flying half-empty, and the carrier suffers huge losses. The competition in this market is very high, but despite this, companies need to be able to negotiate in the interests of the market itself, passengers, and the companies themselves.
Transaero flights, for which tickets are sold and booked, will be provided by UTair, Aeroflot, S7 Siberia. Moreover, Aeroflot takes over the bulk of Transaero's passengers.
There is no intrigue, the company has driven itself into a debt corner.
A crisis in the air transportation market is a quite common phenomenon in world practice. Just like the bankruptcy of even the largest players.
Four classes of passenger service.
One of the largest parks aircraft currently owned by Transaero. In addition, Transaero is the only airline among the countries of Russia, the CIS and Eastern Europe that operates the passenger Boeing-747.
From the first day of its existence, the company has been working in three main areas: improving flight safety, providing comfort and continuous improvement.
The management of Transaero is constantly working to improve the quality of passenger service.
As part of this activity, the company, represented by its employees, implements the following activities:
assumes full responsibility to passengers for the safety of flights;
ready to constantly listen to each client and fulfill all his requirements;
ensures the coherence of the work of all its employees;
carefully considers all candidates for employees, relying in the choice not only on professional, but also on personal qualities everyone;
A huge role in the success of Transaero is played by the company's staff, consisting of professionals in their field. Currently, their number is approaching 10,000. By providing employees with high wages, the company's management thereby emphasizes the great importance of each in achieving a common goal - high-quality customer service for Transaero.
The company tries to fully fulfill its obligations to passengers. It does its best to provide flight opportunities for passengers of different categories with different financial capabilities.
In just 25 years of its activity, Transaero Airlines has achieved worldwide recognition of the success of its activities. At the moment, the air carrier carries out dozens of flights across the territory Russian Federation, and no less number of flights also falls on the countries of near and far abroad, which indicates the firm intentions of this air operator, which will most likely lead to future development in the near future.
Today, Transaero Airlines is very recognizable in the international arena of passenger air transportation, and dozens of airports located around the world cooperate with this air carrier. In the very near future, the air carrier intends to expand its air fleet by increasing the number of aircraft by more than 50%, which will be an excellent tool for continuing the development of its air transportation, both on domestic routes of the Russian Federation and abroad.
As of the end of September 2014, Transaero Airlines significantly increased the volume of passengers carried - an increase compared to the same month of the previous year amounted to about 3.5%. The annual number of passengers carried increases by more than 15% every year, which once again underlines the success of this air carrier.
As part of the social policy, the company's management is ready to provide free services certain groups of passengers. This includes veterans of the Great Patriotic War, residents of besieged Leningrad, prisoners of concentration camps. In addition, the company provides financial sponsorship to children suffering from cancer, and also provides free transportation of such children from various cities of Russia for treatment abroad. The social policy of Transaero is also aimed at the development of Russian sports.
On the company's website you will receive all the information you need. Special operators-consultants will answer all your questions.
Transaero (Transaero)
Basic data:
Airline country - Russia;
Engaged in long-haul flights from St. Petersburg and Moscow throughout Russia and the world.
Year of appearance: 1991;
IATA airline code: UN;
ICAO airline code: TSO;
Airline internal code: UN;
Air company Transaero. Official site:
That 75% plus 1 share of Transaero will be bought by Aeroflot for 1 ruble. At the same time, the debts of Transaero, together with leasing contracts, had reached 260 billion rubles by that time. The Vedomosti newspaper publishes the story of how the owners of the air carrier - the Pleshakovs - built and lost the company.
In 1992, the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) was established, which was involved in the certification of aircraft, airports, the development of airworthiness standards and the investigation of aviation accidents. Tatyana Anodina, the mother of the future Transaero CEO Alexander Pleshakov, became its chairman, and part-time aviation general, former head of the technical department of the Ministry civil aviation THE USSR. “Tatyana Grigoryevna knew how the complex business of air transportation works, that's all. Unlike the pilots who led hundreds of squadrons, into which Aeroflot was divided in the 1990s, the only air carrier in the USSR,” says Infomost CEO Boris Rybak.
The first flight of Transaero took place on November 5, 1991 on a rented Tu-154 along one of the most profitable routes - to Israel. In 1992, with the money earned during the year of flights, Transaero acquired its first Il-86 and opened the Moscow-Norilsk route.
In 1997, Transaero signed an agreement with Boeing on the preparation of a contract for the supply of 40 new aircraft. “The company was lucky - it did not have time to buy a single new Boeing. Otherwise, the story of Transaero could have ended when the crisis broke out,” says Aleksey Sinitsky, editor-in-chief of the Air Transport Review magazine. By the 1998 crisis, Transaero had 17 Boeing 737s, the average age of which was over 20 years.
Back in 1997, Transaero registered aviation company Transaero, whose board of directors included two representatives of the oligarch Boris Berezovsky. For several years, Berezovsky's structures were able to consolidate almost 44% of the shares, and then the company was supported by the chairman of the Federation Council, the governor of the Orel region, Yegor Stroyev. In 2000, the oligarch had to leave Russia, and Stroev helped the company save on taxes: on his orders, Transaero was granted tax breaks to the local budget in the amount of 50% under the obligation to reconstruct the local airport and open regular flights from Orel to Moscow. The airport has not been reconstructed.
In 2004, the airline changed its registration to St. Petersburg, the Pleshakovs bought out Berezovsky's stake in 2005-2006, which, according to Vedomosti, could cost them 2.5 billion rubles.
The Pleshakovs gained full control over Transaero by 2006. A year earlier, the fleet was restored to the level of 1997 - 17 aircraft. By 2010, their number reached 59. At the same time, by the end of 2009, the airline's net debt was five times higher than EBITDA. And from 2007 to 2015, Transaero showed profit only once - in 2011. Analysts noticed the first signs of a crisis in Transaero in 2013 - then the company, with a long delay and the auditor's reservations, published financial statements under IFRS. “And in 2014, when the events in Ukraine began and the economic situation began to deteriorate more and more rapidly, especially at the end of the year, it became clear that Transaero would not survive,” says Rybak.
One of the sources of the publication claims that around that time the Pleshakovs first offered to buy out their business for $300 million, reducing the offer to $100 million a year later.
In October 2014, Sberbank announced the organization of a syndicated loan in the amount of up to 45 billion rubles - to refinance the company's debt. In addition, after Transaero, it received state guarantees for a loan of 9 billion rubles from VTB and refused a loan from Sberbank, starting negotiations on new state guarantees for large amounts - up to 70 billion rubles, but, according to sources of the publication, the fate of the company has already been decided. “But creditors and the government were afraid to immediately apply tough measures to Transaero - otherwise half the country would not come back from vacation,” one of them says.
“Shuvalov just ran out of patience at a certain point,” the federal official says, and notes that no one in the government and state creditor banks understood what business model the Pleshakovs were talking about, and it became clear that the prospect of stopping flights and strikes was becoming real employees. Therefore, Shuvalov handed over the passengers to Aeroflot, only this company would have the capacity to transport such a number of people.
“I think that for Alexander Petrovich Pleshakov, the proposal to give the company for 1 ruble at a government meeting was a surprise. But he stood up and said that if the banks were not ready to restructure debts otherwise, then he was ready to give up the company, let the banks talk to another shareholder and that he was grateful to Aeroflot, ”says Vitaly, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vnukovo Airport and a minority co-owner of Transaero Vantsev.
After purchasing a 75.1% stake in Transaero, Aeroflot is going to reduce the aircraft fleet of the acquired airline by 70%, optimize routes and restructure debts.
Pleshakova and Anodina did not respond to Vedomosti's requests.
This Monday can be considered the day of the final death of the company "". At midnight on October 26, the carrier's air operator certificate expired, and earlier announced that it would cancel this document. Transaero planes will no longer take to the skies.
Established in 1990, Transaero became the first private airline in Russia. It was founded in 1990 by the son of the Minister of Radio Industry of the USSR, Colonel-General Pyotr Pleshakov, and Tatyana Anodina, chairman of the Interstate Aviation Committee. The company started with charter flights on Aeroflot aircraft. The official birthday of the company was November 5, 1991: on this day, Transaero made its first flight - chartered flight on the route Moscow - Tel Aviv - Moscow. The aircraft was leased, but was already flying under its own UN code.
In 1992, the airline purchased its first Il-86 aircraft and launched its first regular flight Moscow - Norilsk. In the photo - crew members before the flight (from left to right): chief pilot of the airline B. Login, flight engineer G. Stolyarov, navigator V. Kalinin and ship commander Y. Shrage.
It was Transaero that was the first in Russian civil aviation to purchase foreign-made aircraft and equip its fleet with them. Since 1993, the company has established regular Passenger Transportation on domestic and foreign routes. In the same year, the airline launches the first regular international flights Moscow - Kyiv, Moscow - Alma-Ata, Moscow - Tel Aviv. In the photo - Boeing 737, which since 1996 has made flights on the route Moscow - Chisinau - Moscow 3 times a week.
In 1993, Transaero became the first of Russian airlines offering business class services to domestic flights. In the photo - employees of the airline "Transaero" are invited to fly.
Alexander Pleshakov - from the moment the company was founded and until 2015, he worked in the company. During the existence of Transaero, he held the positions of president, general director, chairman of the board of directors of the company. Prior to founding the company, he worked as a designer at the Moscow Machine-Building Plant "Speed" and was an expert at the International Commercial Department of the USSR Ministry of Civil Aviation.
In May 2001, the wife of Alexander Pleshakov became the general director of the company. She became the first woman in Russian history to head an airline. A graduate of the Moscow Aviation Institute and a candidate of technical sciences, she joined her husband's company back in 1992, starting as a senior expert in the technology department. For two, Alexander and Olga Pleshakov owned 36.6% of the company, another 3% belonged to Alexander's mother, Tatyana Anodina.
In 2005, Transaero becomes the first and only operator passenger aircraft Boeing 747 in Russia, CIS and Eastern Europe. The airline's fleet consisted of 106 airliners, which included Boeing 777, Boeing 747, Boeing 767, Boeing 737, Airbus A321, Tu-214 and two cargo Tu-204S. In 2006 the company was re-registered in St. Petersburg.
In 2009, Transaero became the first Russian airline to start providing first-class services on domestic routes and is among the top ten world air carriers on tourism and recreation routes.
Since 2010, Transaero has been at the peak of its success. This year it opens more than 20 new destinations for regular flights, including flights Moscow - Beijing, Moscow - New York, Moscow - Miami. In 2011, the company's profit increased more than 3 times compared to 2010 - up to 1.83 billion rubles, and in 2012 it continues to grow at a rate exceeding the average growth rates for the industry in Russia. Over the 10 years from 2002 to 2012, the airline's passenger traffic increased 41 times, the number of passengers carried increased 27 times, to 10.3 million, the airline's fleet increased more than 8 times. In 2012, Olga Pleshakova became the most influential woman in Russian business, and Transaero was the first Russian airline to receive the World Airline Awards, established by Skytrax, in the global nomination "World's Most Progressive Airline". In 2013, the company's net profit amounted to 788.38 million rubles,
In 2014, the first wake-up call rang: the company began to experience its first financial difficulties against the backdrop of a strong decline in passenger traffic, which led to the emerging financial crisis. At the end of December, Transaero received state guarantees for a loan of 9 billion rubles. The company refused incentive payments to top management and the board of directors, but this did not help: in the first quarter of 2015, the net loss amounted to 5.742 billion rubles. The deputy chairman of the government, regarding the assistance to the carrier, said that the difficult financial situation of the company and the "lack of a clear understanding by the government of what is happening inside the company" call into question further loans.
Despite serious problems, in May of this year the company was able to carry out restyling and presented an updated corporate identity, its development was estimated at $10 million, although the company denied this figure. However, the company got worse and worse. By June 2015, accounts payable exceeded 61 billion rubles. In early August, Transaero posted on its website new "favorable price offers" for flights to 58 destinations, the prices for which were 10% lower than those of competitors, after which Aeroflot accused Transaero of dumping due to a loan for 9 billion rubles received from VTB under state guarantees at the end of 2014. Transaero has already received 9 billion rubles and is in line for state guarantees ranging from 40 billion to 70 billion rubles. Where did they spend 9 billion? To dumping,” said the general director of Aeroflot.
What's going on with Transaero? This question still does not lose its relevance among Russians who prefer to move with the help of air view transport. And it is really urgent, since a huge number of people used the services of the above airline. The geography of its flights is extensive: India, Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia and so on, so on, so on. What is happening with Transaero, the company that was the largest player in the domestic transportation market? The company was in charge of more than 100 aircraft, and the profit in 2014 was a fabulous amount - 114 billion rubles. Why did a "prosperous" air carrier suddenly become bankrupt? What is happening with Transaero today? Let's consider these questions in more detail.
Company owners
The air carrier "Transaero" was established at the end of December 1990. Its owners were the son of the Minister of Radio Industry Soviet Union Alexander Pleshakov and head of the Interstate Aviation Committee Tatyana Anodina.
Before last days the existence of the airline, its executive director was Alexander Pleshakov, and the Board of Directors of the commercial structure was headed by his wife, Olga Pleshakova.
Reasons for the collapse
The situation about what is happening with Transaero can be described to the point of banality. The company suffered bankruptcy. But financial fiasco never occurs in a vacuum. Its cause is a short-sighted and irrational leadership style. The owners of the air carrier have so unbalanced the levels of income and expenses that experts are still trying to figure out what really happened to Transaero.
The beginning of the crisis
Meanwhile, the carrier had financial problems for a long time. Back in the period from 2007 to 2009, the amount of debt increased from 10 to 32 billion rubles.
True, by 2014 the situation was somewhat leveled. The management's desire to enter the stock market contributed to the destabilization of the financial situation. However, it turned out to be quite problematic to put this idea into practice, and experts immediately suspected that financial statements carrier is non-transparent. In addition, the cost of the company itself was unreasonably high. But these are far from all the pitfalls of what actually happened with Transaero. Perplexity was caused by the feigned optimism of the owners: they say, things are going great. personally stated that Transaero does not need additional assets, therefore, there is no need to place securities. One way or another, but the audit companies that were engaged in checking the financial documentation of the air carrier signed the reports with huge reservations.
Crisis intensifies
By the end of 2014, analysts had already finally predicted the scale of what was happening with Transaero. Her financial situation has become simply terrifying.
The total amount of debt to creditors has reached astronomical figures - 250 billion rubles, while financial claims from refueling structures and air carriers amounted to 20 billion.
About 150 billion rubles is a debt on leasing obligations, moreover, more than 30 aircraft are owned by credit institutions: VTB, Vnesheconombank, Sberbank. Yes, and before banking structures, Transaero had debt obligations - their share amounted to about 80 billion. A number of financial organizations turned out to be among the creditors: Moscow Credit VTB, Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, FC Otkritie Bank. It would seem that the state should delve into the situation, because it sees what is happening with Transaero , and certainly able to help solve the financial crisis.However, officials were in no hurry to interfere in the affairs of the largest participant in the air transportation market.Why?
Human factor
As already emphasized, the financial collapse of Transaero is the work of the company's management, which for many years tried by all means to increase the prestige and significance of its offspring, presenting it as "the best of the best."
However, in reality, it was not such, and it was often necessary to splurge with the use of PR technologies. Despite the fact that Transaero had a huge debt to creditors, the owners of the company continued the campaign called "Discount Ticket Sales". At the same time, the partners of the air carrier opposed in every possible way to fulfill their obligations on credit. The pilots and flight attendants were well aware of what was happening with the Transaero airline, but its management was trying to build a model that would be another argument in favor of the fact that the exit of its offspring from the market would lead to the collapse of the entire industry.
Ways out of the crisis
At the end of 2014, the above air carrier receives a loan from VTB Bank in the amount of 9 billion rubles under state guarantees. However, officials long enough figured out what really happened with Transaero, and chose not to interfere anymore.
Arkady Dvorkovich, an assistant to the head of the Russian Cabinet of Ministers, said that it is very difficult for the government to understand what financial upheavals are taking place within the airline, and, due to the lack of transparency in this matter, providing material support to Transaero is an incorrect measure. Minister economic development Alexey Ulyukaev supported his colleague, emphasizing that it makes no sense to financially support inefficient management.
Aeroflot
Soon there were real shifts in solving the problem. Aeroflot became interested in the bankrupt company. This aircraft giant, observing in practice what is happening with Transaero flights, was ready to purchase controlling stake shares of the bankrupt carrier. Aeroflot offered a symbolic amount for the securities - 1 ruble, but the deal did not take place. Why? Firstly, the state no longer intervened in the situation, and secondly, the owners of the shares could not "collect" the necessary 75% plus 1 security into the total array.
And thirdly, creditors were not satisfied with the restructuring plan offered by Sberbank. The government had no choice but to decide on the financial insolvency of Transaero. However, the bankrupt himself had to fulfill his obligations to customers, but at the expense of the efforts of other air carriers.
What conditions did the passengers find themselves in?
Of course, the news of the bankruptcy of the country's largest airline was not kept secret. Until now, many are trying to figure out what is happening with the passengers of Transaero. Officials of the Russian Ministry of Transport hurried to reassure tourists that the obligations assumed by the bankrupt company would be fulfilled by other carriers, including: Aeroflot, S-7, UTair, " Ural Airlines"," Orenburg Airlines ". However, a caveat should be kept in mind: if a ticket was purchased for a flight with a date before December 15 of last year, then it will take place. If it is purchased later than the above period, then the passenger will be refunded its cost. Moreover, on the Internet portal of the Transaero company, you can familiarize yourself with detailed instructions about how to return the ticket and get your money. If you purchased it online, then all return transactions must also be done via the Web. If the ticket was purchased at the offices of Transaero, then you need to contact it there.
Those who purchased it from a tour operator need to pay a visit to him. If you took tickets at the box office of Transaero, then you will only have to take them there. Employees of the airline said that the money for the ticket will be returned within 14 to 30 days from the date of application.
What should employees do?
Those who worked in the bankrupt airline found themselves in a difficult situation. The question of what happens to Transaero employees is also of interest to a huge number of people. Today, pilots, flight attendants of a bankrupt air carrier cannot get a job, hoping that sooner or later they will be paid their wages. Some pilots still manage to get jobs in foreign airlines, while flight attendants are still experiencing financial difficulties. Aeroflot and the new united airline Rossiya will help to partially solve this problem.
Conclusion
Experts say that even such a powerful structure as Aeroflot is not able to cope with the debt burden that Transaero has built up. However, there will not be any serious consequences of a social nature. Until mid-December last year, almost all obligations for cargo transportation within the framework of purchased tickets should have been fulfilled; some passengers received money for them.
Aircraft on the balance sheet of Transaero will become the property of Aeroflot. Part of the property will be sold through auctions. Lenders will certainly suffer huge losses. Experts say that today every airline that has its own fleet of aircraft and desire can fly to destinations previously served by Transaero.
