Air Moldova

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State airline Air Moldova was founded by presidential decree of January 12, 1993. Air sub-units based in Chisinau airport provided the basis for the airline. Thus the beginning of the company's activity can be counted down from September 19, 1944, when the first unit of transport aircrafts Po-2 arrived to Chisinau and Moldovan independent squadron started to function. Aside from fifteen aircrafts of Po-2 type operating domestic flights and serving in agriculture, at first there were two Li-2, which operated flights to Moscow, some Ukrainian cities and Black Sea and Caucasus summer resorts.

In 1960s some considerable steps in development of the local airline industry were made. New airport in Chisinau put into operation at the beginning of the decade was able to serve gas turbine aircrafts. The enterprise received status of Civil Aviation Administration in 1965 and new aircrafts of An-10, An-12 and An-24 types enlarged its fleet. Regular flights to many cities of the USSR were opened and transportation of fruits and vegetables grown in Moldova to the largest industrial centers of the country was established.

The beginning of 1970s is marked by appearance of jet planes on country's main air lines.

Tu-134 started its operations in 1971 and this aircraft type became the main air liner of the enterprise and the total number of them achieved 26. In Chisinau there even was an all-union test basis for aircrafts of this type. In 1972 regional aircrafts Yk-42 and in 1974 cargo aircrafts An-26 enlarged the fleet. The route map kept expanding and flow of traffic grew.

Further development of Moldovan aviation was conditioned by introduction of Tu-154.
In the middle of 1980s the Administration received ten of them. At that time Moldovan aircrafts flew to 73 cities of the USSR and carried over 1.000.000 passengers per year. In 1990 the first international line between Chisinau and Frankfurt-am-Main was opened.

In the beginning of 1990s the restructuring of the Moldovan air industry took place. The single structure was divided into a number of separate enterprises, one of which became aircompany Air Moldova. It included flying sub-units operating on major passenger air lines.
The beginning of 1990s was a time of challenge for Moldovan civil aviation. Reorganization of the industry took place at the time of complicated political situation, essential recession in living standards and breaking-off of existing economic ties. The fuel deliveries were irregular. As a result, the demand for air transportation decreased considerably. Economic indicators of air transportation kept falling and were as low as in 1950s. As a matter of fact, there only existed an air connection between Moldova and Moscow and Tel Aviv at that time. Nevertheless the airline managed to hold out against all hardships of the transitional period.

At the turn of millenniums situation took a turn for the better. New air routes to European countries were opened. For the first time in the last ten years the airline received new aircrafts.
In 2001 modern airliners - Embraer 120 and Embraer 145 were taken on lease. In 2003 the airline's image was rebranded and airline's logo and coloration of the aircrafts was changed.

In cooperation with state enterprise "Chisinau International Airport" a number of branch companies was created. These consisted of: ticket sales agency "Sky Alliance", "Aeroport-Catering"- passenger catering services, "Aeroport-Handling"- passenger and cargo check-in, their delivery on board of the aircraft and current maintenance of the aircrafts, "Aeroport-Petrol"- aircraft refuelling. New flights to Amsterdam, Vienna and Lisbon were launched. From August, 2004 aircompany started regular operations to the capital of Spain - Madrid. Fleet replenishment with two modern airliners Airbus-320 (the first one was received in September, 2003, the second one- in February,2004) was a remarkable event. That led to substantial increase in passenger transportation and in flow of traffic.

On July 13, 2004 Air Moldova became a member of International Association of Air Transport (IATA).Conditions of becoming an IATA member presume high standards in all aspects of the airline activity. Before becoming an IATA member, Air Moldova underwent audits in fields of operations, maintenance, flight safety and quality systems development. Personnel competence was also assessed in order to make sure that Air Moldova meets high standards set by this organisation.

As from 15th of December 2004 Air Moldova launched a new product called Air Moldova Club. This is a Frequent Flyer Loyalty Programme and is specially designed for those passengers who often travel with Air Moldova. It is based on the accumulation of Credit Miles on all scheduled flights operated by Air Moldova and grants special benefits for its most loyal passengers.