VIM-Avia, whose air operator's certificate is currently restricted, has been appointed head of the airline by Vyacheslav Kononenko, former first deputy general director of Transaero, according to SPARK-Interfax data, Interfax-Tourism reports.
The relevant data was entered into the Unified State Register of Legal Entities on November 10.
VIM-Avia announced its decision to appoint V. Kononenko as CEO in October. Shortly before, the company announced that it had been replaced by another former Transaero top manager, Alexander Burdin, who led the company from December 2015 to September 2017. Burdin "did not assume his duties due to organizational reasons," VIM-Avia later reported, without specifying the reasons.
According to VIM-Avia, V. Kononenko graduated from the Voroshilovgrad Higher Military Aviation School of Navigators in 1986, served in the Air Force, and “for many years held leadership positions in large commercial companies in the Russian Federation.”
Interfax sources link both A. Burdin and V. Kononenko to businessman Boris Karlov, who previously proposed a "rescue plan" for VIM-Avia to the Ministry of Transport and the Federal Air Transport Agency, which would have included a complete write-off of its debts (estimated at over 10 billion rubles) and "covering a cash shortfall of 3 billion rubles." According to RBC newspaper, two years ago, Karlov also recommended appointing A. Burdin as CEO of Transaero, whose air operator certificate had already been revoked.
As head of Transaero, A. Burdin also proposed a "restart plan" to the aviation authorities—converting the company's debts, then estimated at over 250 billion rubles, into creditor shares. However, this idea failed to gain support from either creditors or the government, and Transaero was declared bankrupt.
VIM-Avia, which was the top ten largest air carrier in Russia, announced in late September that it was ceasing all charter flights due to a lack of working capital and outstanding debts to contractors. This followed a series of flight delays from Russian and international airports, affecting thousands of passengers. VIM-Avia's air operator certificate is currently restricted, preventing it from operating commercially.
Source: trn-news.ru