Red Wings was founded in 1999 under the name VARZ-400, after the Russian acronym of the Vnukovo Avia Repair Factory. It was renamed Airlines 400 in 2001, before being given its current name in 2007.
It is now owned by the tycoon Alexander Lebedev, who wanted to create a discount airline using modern Russian Tupolev Tu-204-100, both new-built and used. The company currently operates 8Tupolev Tu-204-100s and also sought to acquireAirbus A320s and possibly Airbus A321s to complement its Tu-204 fleet.
Lebedev also owns 49% of German charter airline Blue Wings, which was to become Red Wings's sister company. However, on 13 January 2010, Blue Wings ceased all operations, filing bankrupt due to the economical crisis which had led to a pull-out of investors.
