VIM-Avia canceled charters. What should passengers do? 

All charter flights. This was preceded by massive flight delays, as a result of which thousands of tourists were unable to fly out of airports. The carrier's debts are estimated at billions of rubles. The company has no funds either for compensation for tourists or for replacing delayed flights.

How did it all start?

The company's first difficulties began at the end of spring: on May 31, VIM-Avia canceled hundreds of flights throughout the country. Two days later, charter flights to Turkey, Bulgaria and a number of others were postponed popular destinations. In just a week, about 10 thousand passengers were unable to fly due to disruptions in transportation. Most of them are clients of NTK Intourist tour operators, Coral Travel, ICS Travel Group and others.

At the same time, the Federal Air Transport Agency threatened with the possibility of canceling charter flights in Russia if massive delays continued. Later this information was refuted. Part of VIM-Avia’s obligations to transport passengers was assumed by the Turkish Onur Air and the Bulgarian Bulgaria Air.

VIM-Avia eliminated the disruptions in the flight schedule by mid-June. However, the company has already managed to attract the attention of law enforcement agencies. An administrative case was opened against the carrier due to the delay of 173 flights in two months in total.

Why were the delays repeated?

Spot failures occurred in the schedule in the summer. But the situation became serious on September 23. Then it became known about the company’s multibillion-dollar debts, which VIM-Avia was unable to repay. Thus, the carrier owed Domodedovo Airport over 500 million rubles for aircraft maintenance, and also systematically did not pay salaries to its employees. Flight attendants and pilots alone were underpaid by about 30 million rubles. The total debt to staff is 206 million rubles. The company's accounts payable are estimated to range from 3 to 10 billion rubles.

A prosecutor's investigation into the mass delays has already established that company employees sold tickets to passengers, knowing that they would not be able to fly. The total volume of thefts has not yet been determined, however, according to preliminary estimates, over 140 thousand tourists were affected.

Several hundred passengers are in Domodedovo in the hope that their flight will take place. Many passengers remain at the airports of Antalya, Rimini and a number of popular resorts and cannot return home.

Other air carriers have already announced that they are not going to operate flights instead of VIM-Avia. Over the summer, third-party airlines transported over 220 thousand tourists who bought VIM-Avia tickets. The Russian Union of Travel Industry has already warned that there will be nothing to take tourists out if VIM-Avia planes leave. There are practically no free sides on the market. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) has already demanded government intervention in the situation.

What do they say at VIM-Avia?

Initially, carrier representatives attributed the delays to the “traditional seasonal decline” and late arrival aircraft from maintenance. However, a few days later, the company's management admitted that it was experiencing significant financial difficulties and was unable to fulfill its obligations to passengers. They see a possible transition of the company under external management as one of the options for getting out of this situation. This is stated on the company's website.

On September 24, the management of VIM-Avia turned to the authorities for government guarantees on loans. The next day, the Federal Air Transport Agency began unscheduled inspection airlines due to flight delays. The Ministry of Transport also conducts its inspection. The head of the department, Maxim Sokolov, explained that problems with delays affected mainly charter flights. Regular ones leave with minimal delay from schedule. “The company delayed the repair of a number of aircraft, and in this case, charter programs were naturally cut - this is international practice,” Sokolov noted.

Based on the results of the inspections, the Ministry of Transport and the Federal Air Transport Agency decided to suspend VIM-Avia’s charter programs, and the company was obliged to transport passengers from vacation spots independently or with the involvement of third-party forces. From Tuesday, September 26, the company's flights will be Vnukovo Airport.

What happens at airports?

VIM-Avia flights depart with many hours of delays. In Crimea, passengers of the Simferopol-Moscow flight waited at the airport for seven hours.

Both domestic flights (to St. Petersburg, Sochi, Krasnodar, Blagoveshchensk, Magadan) and flights were postponed international destinations(Dubai, Antalya, Thessaloniki, Rimini, Yerevan). There are over 43 thousand airline clients at foreign airports.

Operational headquarters for returning from abroad Russian tourists- VIM-Avia clients in Federal agency for tourism (Rosturizm). The service will receive data about clients located abroad and determine the timing of the export of tourists.

Will tourists be able to get their money back?

Rospotrebnadzor has published recommendations for tourists related to compensation for losses. In the current circumstances, the passenger has the right to refuse the flight and receive money even for non-refundable ticket. Flight refusal in this case is considered forced.

Moreover, airline customers have the right to demand compensation for moral damages and damages due to flight delays. In addition, passengers may request a hotel if the delay exceeds eight hours. If the flight is delayed by four or more hours, customers should be provided with free hot meals. Also, according to the rules, after two or three hours you can ask for soft drinks.

In most cases, issues with cancellation of charter flights can be resolved through the tour operator. Charter flights are usually not profitable for independent travelers; they are used mainly as part of package tours. Large tour operators, as a rule, have no problem finding an alternative airline for the flight. The company may offer other vacation options or is obliged to fully compensate the cost of the tour. ATOR assumes that even if VIM-Avia goes bankrupt, the situation will not become critical for the tourism business.

Still, ATOR believes that it is possible to return such a number of tourists on its own Russian tour operators it is too expensive.

“All charter programs of VIM-Avia until the end of the season were paid in full by tour operators. Tour operators today do not have the technical ability to allocate funds to re-pay for flights (and this, according to preliminary estimates, is at least $10 million) without the threat of disrupting stable operations,” the association’s letter says.

If you bought the ticket yourself, you can only receive compensation by contacting the airline directly. It would be a good idea to follow the messages of the Federal Air Transport Agency and the Ministry of Transport. For canceled flights to EU countries there is a compensation system, thanks to which you can get back up to €600 for a canceled flight.

The Compensair service, which specializes in obtaining compensation for flight delays and cancellations, recommends keeping a cool head and at the same time preparing a number of documents that can further facilitate the refund procedure. So, for example, if a passenger learns about a flight cancellation while already at the airport, he should receive a written comment from the airline or a certificate of cancellation of the flight.

“I recommend collecting contact details of all passengers from the flight. This will allow the airline to file a class action complaint and then a lawsuit. In accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation, the first thing that should definitely be demanded from the airline is fulfillment of transportation obligations. It is unlikely that compensation for delay or cancellation will be obtained directly from the airline, so I recommend that passengers unite to go to court,” said the company’s general director Roman Gilmanov.

In view of large quantity questions received by the ATOR Legal Service regarding the current difficult situation with VIM-Avia charter flights, we provide here the answers to the most relevant ones.

First of all, we ask you to remain calm and find the strength to constructively resolve the current situation. Changing your vacation plans is always unpleasant, but there are no unsolvable situations.

THE AIRLINE CLOSE DOWN AND NOW NOBODY WILL FLY ANYWHERE?

Nothing like that happens. VIM-Avia has officially released a statement that in order to stabilize its schedule, the airline is canceling a number of charter flights. The changes will affect the period from June 1 to June 15, 2017. In the future, the company plans to carry out its activities as planned. You can read more about VIM-Avia’s statement here.

WE BOUGHT A TOUR THAT INCLUDES VIM-AVIA TRANSPORTATION. WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

If you purchased a travel product with VIM-Avia tickets from a travel agency or tour operator and your flight should take place between June 1 and June 15, 2017, then, first of all, there is no need to panic. For tour operators, the situation is as sudden as it is for you, but all companies are doing everything possible to replace VIM-Avia transportation with flights of other airlines.

All changes to the tour will be communicated to travel agents immediately and you should keep in touch with your agent. Please be patient and, if your departure is scheduled for a later date, do not demand immediate answers to your questions, give companies the opportunity to calmly find a replacement for the canceled VIM-Avia flight.

I HAVE A TOUR WITH A VIM-AVIA CHARTER FLIGHT, DEPARTURE IS TOMORROW. WHERE SHOULD I GO?

Contact your travel agent, he will have all the operational information from the tour operator. You can also find up-to-date information on upcoming flights on the websites of tour operators. If the tour operator is unable to find alternative transportation for you in this short period of time, you can purchase an air ticket yourself and, after your vacation, begin to receive a refund for the canceled flight by contacting VIM-avia.

IMPORTANT! Be sure to notify the agent (tour operator) of your independent decisions to ensure that ground handling (hotel accommodation) will be preserved for you. Discuss how you will get from the airport to the hotel, whether it will be possible to group transfer alternative options will be offered to you or you.

I ONLY HAVE A TICKET FOR A VIM-AVIA CHARTER FLIGHT, I AM AN INDIVIDUAL TRAVELER, WHAT SHOULD I DO?

You will also be transferred to another flight. But if you purchased a ticket through an agency for booking and selling air tickets, you will have to keep in touch with them, because the tour operator definitely does not have your contacts, you did not provide them to them. Therefore, you should contact the company from which you purchased your ticket and arrange to inform you of flight changes.

MY FAMILY AND I DIDN'T FLY OUT TODAY FOR A VACATION. AT THE AIRPORT WE WERE STAMPED WITH A “FLIGHT CANCELED” STAMP ON OUR TICKET. WHAT TO DO ABOUT THIS?

If your ticket was purchased as part of a tour, please contact your travel agent, who is your liaison with the tour operator. Now tour operators are negotiating with both the management of VIM-Avia and other airlines about replacing flights.

You may be offered to reschedule your tour dates or be offered other departure options so that you can save at least part of the tour. If this is not possible or you are not satisfied with the replacement, the travel agency will explain to you how you can issue a refund Money. Please be aware that the tour operator may not be able to respond to you immediately upon your request, please be understanding of this.

If you bought only an air ticket at VIM-Avia (at ticket offices), then you should also apply for a refund at the place where you purchased the ticket. The airline agency will tell you how and what kind of application you should prepare and within what time frame it will be considered.

Please note that the air ticket is your contract with the airline, therefore, regardless of the place and purpose of purchase (for independent travel or as part of a tourist product), you can directly contact VIM-Avia for a refund. You can submit applications simultaneously - at the place where you purchased the ticket or tour and to the airline.

A married couple from Moscow, Ivan Voloshchenko and Ekaterina Demidova, have been unable to fly to Moscow from the Fethiye region in Turkey for almost two days.

They purchased package tour at NTK "Intourist" and on September 17 flew by Yamal airlines to Dalaman airport, and then checked into the Sentido Lykia Resort & Spa hotel.

Ivan and Ekaterina were supposed to fly home on September 25 on VIM-Avia flight 9304 from Dalaman airport. However, at first the flight was postponed, and now there is no new information about the departure at all. “We don’t have enough information, we want to understand what’s going on,” shares Ekaterina. - Yesterday we packed our things and until the evening we didn’t know where we would spend the night.”

The family awaits news on the grounds of their hotel. The travel agency covered the costs of accommodation and food on these days. However, the couple had to move to a house on the outskirts of the hotel. Presumably, it is intended for hotel staff.

“Waiting here, of course, is better than at the airport hotel, but my husband had to go to work on September 26. His important meetings were disrupted, and the management is unhappy,” Ekaterina complains.

Dmitry Shevchenko, partner of the Zamoskvorechye legal bureau

In principle, if a married couple ends up in Turkey on a “trip”, that is, having purchased a tourism product from a tour operator or through an intermediary, then they first need to contact the operator or agent.

In the current situation, upon returning to your homeland, you can file a claim against the air carrier demanding compensation for actual losses incurred, additional expenses associated with staying at the resort and, if the spouses decide to buy a return ticket at their own expense, payment for the return flight.

It is clear that, given the scale of the problem, they will not receive the money immediately, even after the court makes a decision in their favor. However, in the future, in the event of a likely bankruptcy of the company, their claims may well be entered, by decision of the manager, into the register of claims against the carrier. Consequently, it will be possible to satisfy their demands in whole or in part only after the completion of bankruptcy proceedings, and if you look at the example of Transaero, this may happen in a year or two. Actually, in this situation I don’t see any other way out. The carrier has no money; demands are placed on it not only by ordinary passengers, but also by creditors, employees, and airports.

Dmitry Khavansky, development manager at Skyscanner in Russia

How to get compensation for a canceled or delayed flight

In Russia, according to Article 126 Air Code RF, you can make a claim against the carrier within six months from the date of cancellation or delay of the flight.

To receive money for rescheduling a flight, you need to submit an application addressed to the airline (which must be sent by registered mail to the airline's address with a detailed list of attachments) attach copies of the following documents:

Air tickets with notes from airport staff about flight delays or cancellations. A certificate certified by a representative of the company or airport can also serve as confirmation. If you were unable to obtain a stamp or certificate, please attach copies of your tickets and boarding passes;

Receipts and receipts proving that you incurred unnecessary expenses due to the flight rescheduling;

Tickets for events, payment receipts for excursions, invitations to family holidays, medical certificates, letters - all this, according to paragraph 2 of Art. 13 of the Law of 02/07/1992 N 2300-1, may serve as the basis for compensation for collateral damages and moral damages if your trip had a clear purpose - for example, a concert of a rarely performing group, a football match, a friend’s wedding or a meeting with a seriously ill relative.

The airline is obliged to make a decision on your claim within 30 days from the date of receipt (clause 1 of article 128 of the RF CC).

If the carrier has not satisfied your demands, you can sue it within three years from the date of delay or cancellation of the flight (Clause 1 of Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The package of documents in this case looks like this:

Statement of claim;

A copy of the travel document with a note about the flight delay or flight cancellation;

Bills for hotel accommodation, food, telephone calls, etc.;

Documents confirming that due to the fault of the airline you suffered collateral material or moral damage;

A written claim to the airline with proof of dispatch and, preferably, receipt;

Response from air carrier representatives (if given).

What is the airline obliged to provide free of charge to a passenger in case of a flight delay?

Paragraph 99 of the Federal Aviation Regulations clearly defines how airlines must compensate for inconvenience caused by rescheduling a flight.

If your flight is delayed by more than 2 hours, you are entitled to 2 phone calls or 2 emails, free drinks, Free access to the mother and child room if you are flying with children under 7 years old.

If your flight is delayed by more than 4 hours, you should be provided with a free hot meal. If the flight is delayed for a long time, you should be fed every 6 hours during the day and every 8 hours at night.

For passengers whose flight is postponed by more than 8 hours during the day or by more than 6 hours at night, the airline is obliged to accommodate them in a hotel and provide round-trip transfers. However, according to the law, you cannot be placed in the same room with strangers.

VIM-avia airline may stop operating from Monday. Photo: Wikipedia

The tenth airline in Russia, VIM-avia, is on the verge of stopping. The company does not have money for jet fuel and airport services; creditors paid for its flights until 12.00 on Monday, September 25. Last week, VIM-avia asked the government for help, but the chances of receiving government guarantees for new loans are slim.

What's happening?

• On September 22-23, 19 VIM-Avia flights were delayed at Domodedovo for 10-13 hours. The reason is the airline's debt to the airport and fuel suppliers, a representative of the Federal Air Transport Agency told The Bell. The airline does not have the money to pay for jet fuel and airport services, sources tell The Bell: in Domodedovo alone, the airline owes about 500 million rubles, approximately the same amount of total debt to other airports and fuel suppliers.
• On Saturday morning, the work of VIM-avia until 12.00 Monday, September 25, was agreed to be financed by structures close to the government of Tatarstan, where the airline is registered - Tatneft (it will supply jet fuel), the government itself and the Zenit bank close to it, sources tell The Bell. It was important to ensure the continuation of flights on weekends, when the number of passengers is highest, says one of them.
• On Thursday, VIM-avia turned to relevant Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich for support, asking for state guarantees on loans. A Dvorkovich representative told The Bell that the company’s request was transferred to the Ministry of Transport for “formation of proposals.” Proposals are due Monday. The Bell's interlocutors, familiar with the position of regulators, believe that under an optimistic scenario, the airline can survive until mid-October at most, and under a pessimistic scenario - until the end of September.
• The Federal Air Transport Agency has been instructed to work with air carriers on the VIM-AVIA route network in order to determine those responsible for the transportation of passengers in the event of “the occurrence of circumstances in which VIM-AVIA is unable to operate flights,” according to an official statement from the Ministry of Transport.
• In total, 17 flights are announced on the VIM-Avia schedule for Monday, 10 of which are after 12.00.
• “Temporary difficulties with the airline’s schedule are caused by the traditional seasonal decline, which has led to disputes among business entities and delays of a number of flights,” says a comment sent to The Bell by VIM-avia representative Elena Fedorova. The company consulted with regulatory authorities and partners and reached preliminary agreements to rectify the situation, the commentary says.
• All sources of The Bell cite its aggressive strategy as the cause of VIM-Avia’s problems: since the beginning of 2016, the company has purchased 7 wide-body Boeing-777 aircraft in anticipation of an increase in tourist traffic between Russia and China, but was unable to fulfill the planned volume of traffic. Over the summer, 220 thousand passengers who bought VIM-Avia tickets were transported by other carriers.
• Over the first 8 months of 2017, VIM-avia carried 1.83 million passengers (an increase of 31.4%) and ranks 10th among Russian airlines. One of The Bell's sources estimates the number of tickets sold by the company in the coming months at 100 thousand. Source on tourist market says that the company sold 20-30 thousand tickets for charter flights.
• UPD: VIM-Avia delays at Domodedovo continue; today six company flights were delayed for several hours

What to do if you have a ticket for a VIM-Avia flight?

• If you depart before 12.00 on Monday, there is nothing to worry about: until this moment, refueling and departure of VIM-Avia aircraft have already been paid for.
• The current crisis is perhaps the most serious, but not the first in the history of VIM-avia. There is a possibility that the owner of the airline, Rashid Mursekaev, will find funding to continue its operation in the near future, and after the end of the summer charter season, the company’s financial position will become more stable.
• If you are flying by charter flight(basic charter destinations"VIM-avia" - Turkey, China, Cyprus), you need to contact the tour operator from whom you purchased the ticket. If VIM-Avia's flights are stopped, they will be the ones who will negotiate the transportation of charter passengers. Vice-President of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia Dmitry Gorin believes that at the end of the season, tour operators should not have serious problems finding aircraft to carry out the VIM-Avia charter program in case it stops.
• If you are abroad and must fly back on a VIM-Avia flight, there is a little less cause for concern: Russian airlines Those experiencing problems with financing usually accumulate debts to Russian airports and fuel companies, but pay their foreign suppliers on time.
• If you are flying regular flight, there is nothing left but to monitor information about the company’s flights on its website, the websites of the Federal Air Transport Agency and the Ministry of Transport. Usually, when a major airline is stopped, the Federal Air Transport Agency is able to negotiate with other market participants on the transportation of passengers.
• However, in any of the above cases, you must be prepared for the fact that your flight may be delayed indefinitely.

Petr Mironenko, Svetlana Reiter

Airlines "VIM-Avia" took several hundred tourists by surprise. Since Friday, May 26, departure problems have occurred on more than 20 flights. This most affected the Turkish and Cypriot directions. Tour operators transfer people to other planes and suffer losses, and tourists block the carrier's information desks at the airport because they don't know what to do.

Record more than just video

The main rule for tourists who are trapped at the airport is to record everything. And not on video and photos - according to lawyers, this does not work well in court - but on paper. You need to write down in detail: what time you were supposed to fly, how long the flight was rescheduled, whether you were provided with food, soft drinks, internet, a room for mother and child, a hotel (from 8 hours). Lawyers also recommend that you independently apply for all of the above and for reliable information about the reasons for non-flight and exact time sending to the airline and tour operator and asking them to sign their response on the same document. If there are no official representatives of the performers or they refuse to sign autographs, gather more witnesses (preferably from among your fellow countrymen) and sign everything yourself, indicating your full name and telephone numbers. All this will help you subsequently defend your rights in court.

“The reason for the flight delay will be of great importance here. We have safety rules, aircraft malfunctions, weather conditions, etc., but as I understand it, this is not the case with VIM-Avia. This is more likely a system failure, poor organization of the airline’s work. And since this is not some kind of force majeure, they must bear civil liability, including compensation for losses,” notes the lawyer for the Tourist Rights Protection Club Margarita Eremeeva.

On vacation

For tourists who flew on VIM-Avia because they bought a tour package, lawyers recommend contacting a tour operator. After the flight does take place and the tourists arrive on vacation, the tour organizer will certainly try to resolve all problems on the spot in order to avoid legal claims in the future.

If the flight delay was so significant that it led to a change in the date of check-in at the hotel, upon arrival on vacation tourists will most likely try to somehow compensate for the inconvenience. This could be an additional excursion, an upgrade to the room type, or some other bonus at the discretion of the host. If it was not possible to reach an agreement on the spot, you should submit a written complaint to the tour operator upon returning from your vacation. If the negotiations reach a dead end at this stage, all that remains is to go to court, and it is not a fact that the judge will side with the tourists.