- Document
- GOV-02
- Revision
- 2.5
- Effective
- 2 October 2026
- Issued
Fleet and Operations
Revision: 2.5 Effective: 2 October 2026
Fleet
The Airline operates a single-type fleet of eight Boeing 737 aircraft in two variants, matched to a network that runs from one-hour feeder sectors to five-hour European sectors, and to the winter operating conditions of the North Caucasus.
- Boeing 737-800. 160 seats (12C 148Y), the aircraft for the Russia trunk tier, Amman from Sochi, London and the Hajj programme, and for any other route the week assigns it.
- Boeing 737-700. 128 seats (8C 120Y), the aircraft for the thinner routes of the feeder, Turkey, Middle East and Europe tiers, and for the Nalchik, Damascus and Amman rotation. The two variants share one type rating, one crew pool and most of their spares. Both reach every point the Airline serves, Jeddah and Medina included, with operational margin, so no route carries a tail-level capability restriction.
Fleet Table
| Registration | Type | Variant | Configuration | Max Range (nm) | Turnaround (min) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RA-08801 | 737 | 800 | 12C 148Y | 2900 | 45 |
| RA-08802 | 737 | 800 | 12C 148Y | 2900 | 45 |
| RA-08803 | 737 | 800 | 12C 148Y | 2900 | 45 |
| RA-08804 | 737 | 800 | 12C 148Y | 2900 | 45 |
| RA-08805 | 737 | 700 | 8C 120Y | 3000 | 40 |
| RA-08806 | 737 | 700 | 8C 120Y | 3000 | 40 |
| RA-08807 | 737 | 700 | 8C 120Y | 3000 | 40 |
| RA-08808 | 737 | 700 | 8C 120Y | 3000 | 40 |
Acquisition and Maintenance
Every aircraft is leased.
Maintenance is contracted to established third-party MRO providers with 737 capability at launch. In-house line maintenance is introduced as the fleet grows.
Operational Base
The Airline operates from a single base at Sochi, where aircraft and crew are stationed and maintenance and spares are held.
Krasnodar and Nalchik are focus cities. They hold direct routes without based crew or equipment, reached by tag routing on an existing rotation and by aircraft remaining overnight on a rotating basis.
An aircraft stands overnight at Sukhum, Krasnodar, Nalchik and Mineralnye Vody every night, so that the first movement of the day at each runs inbound into the Sochi connecting bank. A second aircraft stands at Krasnodar on three nights a week to hold the Russia trunk rotation originating there, a second aircraft stands at Nalchik on Friday night to hold the Saturday Damascus and Amman rotation, and one stands at London Stansted on two nights a week for the London night-stop. These are standing aircraft rather than bases: no spares, no maintenance capability and no company staff on the field.
No tail is dedicated to an away overnight. The positions rotate between tails, so every aircraft returns to Sochi on a regular cycle for maintenance.
Crew Complement
Every aircraft is operated by two pilots. Cabin crew are carried at one member for every 50 passenger seats or part of 50.
| Type | Seats | Flight crew | Cabin crew | Total complement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 737-800 | 160 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 737-700 | 128 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
Pilots hold one type rating, covering both variants. Cabin crew qualify on both variants and form a single pool.
| Group | Establishment |
|---|---|
| Pilots | 71 |
| Cabin crew | 120 |
| Total | 191 |
Flight Time and Duty Limitations
The Airline establishes its own flight time, flight duty period and rest limitations and operates a fatigue risk management system against them, in accordance with Annex 6 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The scheme is approved by the civil aviation authority of Circassia and Abkhazia, and no schedule is published that it does not permit.
A flight duty period begins at the reporting time and ends at the release time. Reporting is 60 minutes before scheduled departure and release 30 minutes after final arrival. Positioning as a passenger is duty and is not a flight duty period.
Maximum Flight Duty Period
Hours and minutes, for an acclimatised crew of two pilots, by the time at Sochi at which the flight duty period begins and the number of sectors it contains. Every crew is based at Sochi and no crew rests away from base for more than one night, so every crew is treated as acclimatised to Sochi time, including on the London night-stop.
| Start | 1-2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04:00 - 04:59 | 11:00 | 10:30 | 10:00 | 9:30 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 |
| 05:00 - 05:59 | 12:00 | 11:30 | 11:00 | 10:30 | 10:00 | 9:30 | 9:00 |
| 06:00 - 13:29 | 13:00 | 12:30 | 12:00 | 11:30 | 11:00 | 10:30 | 9:00 |
| 13:30 - 16:59 | 12:00 | 11:30 | 11:00 | 10:30 | 10:00 | 9:30 | 9:00 |
| 17:00 - 21:59 | 11:00 | 10:30 | 10:00 | 9:30 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 |
| 22:00 - 03:59 | 11:00 | 10:30 | 10:00 | 9:30 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 |
No duty is planned closer than 30 minutes to its maximum flight duty period.
Rest
Rest at base is at least as long as the preceding flight duty period and never less than 12 hours. Rest away from base is at least as long as the preceding flight duty period and never less than 10 hours, taken in accommodation providing a full sleep opportunity, with travel between the aircraft and the accommodation additional to it.
Cumulative Limits
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Block hours in 7 consecutive days | 60 |
| Block hours in 28 consecutive days | 110 |
| Block hours in 12 consecutive months | 900 |
| Duty hours in 7 consecutive days | 60 |
| Duty hours in 28 consecutive days | 190 |
| Local days free of all duty, per calendar month | 7 |
Standby and Reserve
The crew establishment carries a reserve loading of 12 per cent. Reserve covers sickness, training absence, a duty limitation reached in the operating day, and the crew consequences of a disrupted rotation. It does not cover the absence of a serviceable aircraft, which is a fleet matter and not a crewing one.
Reserve crews are held at Sochi and at no other point. On every day of operation the Airline holds one flight crew and a cabin crew complement of four on airport standby at Sochi, able to crew either variant, and one further flight crew on home standby. Standby is rostered as a duty, and a standby period counts against the flight duty period limitations published above from the time the crew is called.
Where no reserve remains and a duty cannot be crewed within the limitations, the affected rotation is cancelled. No commercial consideration displaces this.
The Hajj programme is crewed from reserve and from seasonal contract crew, and does not draw on the standby held for the scheduled operation.
Crew Basing and Layover Points
Sochi is the Airline's only crew domicile. Every crew member is based there and no other point holds a domicile.
A crew layover point is an airport at which the Airline holds accommodation so that a crew takes its rest away from base between two duties. It carries a hotel contract and nothing else. No crew is domiciled there, no aircraft is dedicated to it, and it holds no spares, no maintenance capability and no company staff. A layover point is not a base and holding one does not change an airport's role in the network.
| Layover point | Crews per night | Requirement it serves |
|---|---|---|
| Sukhum | 2 | The first departure of the day into the first bank, and the return of the day pair |
| Krasnodar | 2, and 3 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday | The same, and the Russia trunk rotation originating there |
| Nalchik | 2, and 3 on Friday | The first departure of the day into the first bank, the midday return, the Tuesday Kayseri rotation, and the Saturday Damascus and Amman rotation |
| Mineralnye Vody | 2 | The first departure of the day into the first bank, and the afternoon return |
| Moscow Vnukovo | 1, every night | The Russia trunk, on which every crew changes at Vnukovo |
| London Stansted | 1, on Monday and Thursday nights | The London night-stop |
Crew pairings are published in the Network Schedule, GOV-03A, under Crew Pairing Structure.
Operating Procedures
How a pilot takes a flight, where aircraft and pilots stand between flights, ferry flights, flight planning and recording, and the acceptance of flight reports are published in Line Operations, GOV-02B. The standard operating procedures for the 737-700 and the 737-800 are published in Standard Operating Procedures, GOV-02C.
Aerodromes
Aerodrome categories, the qualification a pilot in command holds for each, transition altitudes and levels where none are published, and the company procedures and restrictions at individual aerodromes are published in Aerodrome Operations, GOV-02A.
Ground Handling
Ground handling is contracted to established operators at each airport served. At Sukhum, Krasnodar, Nalchik, Mineralnye Vody and London Stansted the contract covers an aircraft standing overnight as well as a turnaround.