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Aeroflot

January 01, 1970

PJSC Aeroflot – Russian Airlines (Russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", PAO Aeroflot — Rossiyskiye avialinii), commonly known as Aeroflot (English: /ˈɛəroʊˌflɒt/ or /ˌɛəroʊˈflɒt/ ⓘ; Russian: Аэрофлот, transl. "air fleet", pronounced [ɐɛrɐˈfɫot]), is the flag carrier[9][10] and the largest airline of Russia.[11] Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo International Airport. The Federal Agency for State Property Management, an agency of the Government of Russia, owns 73.77% of the company, with the rest of the shares being public float.[12]

Aeroflot – Russian Airlines
Аэрофлот – Российские авиалинии
IATA ICAO Callsign
SU AFL AEROFLOT
Founded3 February 1923; 101 years ago (1923-02-03)
Commenced operations15 July 1923; 100 years ago (1923-07-15)
Hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programAeroflot Bonus
Alliance
Subsidiaries
[3]
Fleet size178, excluding subsidiaries[4]
Destinations104 (airline group)[5]
Traded asMCX: AFLT
HeadquartersMoscow, Russia
Key peopleSergei Alexandrovsky (Chairman, CEO)[6]
Revenue₽492 billion[7] (2021)[8]
Operating income₽-5.01 billion[7] (2021)
Net income₽-34.5 billion[7] (2021)
Total assets₽1.11 trillion[7] (2021)
Total equity₽-146 billion[7] (2021)
Employees30,328 (Aeroflot Group)
Websitewww.aeroflot.ru
www.aeroflot.com

The airline was founded in 1923, making Aeroflot one of the oldest active airlines in the world. During the time of the Soviet Union, Aeroflot was one of the largest airlines in the world.[13] In 1992, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Aeroflot was divided into approximately 400 regional airlines informally known as Babyflots and was restructured into an open joint-stock company. It shrank its fleet dramatically, switching to Western aircraft and expanding internationally. In 2022, the number of destinations was significantly reduced after many countries banned Russian aircraft as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[14] It currently operates service to/from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.[15][16][5]

It has a market share in Russia of approximately 37.8%.[17] Including subsidiaries, the company carried 40.7 million passengers in 2022.[3] Aeroflot also owns Rossiya Airlines and Pobeda, a low-cost carrier.[3]

The Aeroflot fleet, excluding subsidiaries, includes 178 airplanes: 119 Airbus planes and 59 Boeing planes, including 7 that are blocked outside the Russian Federation.[3] However, as a result of international sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the company has ordered over 300 Russian-made jets and plans on making the Yakovlev MC-21 its flagship plane.[18]

History edit

Early history of Soviet civil aviation edit

 
An early Soviet poster calling on citizens to buy stock in Dobrolyot

On 17 January 1921, the Sovnarkom of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic published "About Air Transportation". The document signed by its chair Vladimir Lenin set out the basic regulations on air transport over the territory of the RSFSR. The document was significant as it was the first time that a Russian state had declared sovereignty over its airspace. In addition, the document defined rules for the operation of foreign aircraft over the Soviet Union's airspace and territory. After Lenin issued an order, a State Commission was formed on 31 January 1921 for the purpose of civil aviation planning in the Soviet Union. As a result of the commission's plans, Glavvozdukhflot (Russian: Главвоздухфлот (Главное управление воздушного флота), Chief Administration of the Civil Air Fleet) was established, and it began mail and passenger flights on the Moscow-Oryol-Kursk-Kharkov route on 1 May 1921 using Sikorsky Ilya Muromets aircraft.[19]: 1  This was followed by the formation of Deruluft-Deutsch Russische Luftverkehrs A.G. in Berlin on 11 November 1921, as a joint venture between the Soviet Union and Germany. The company, whose aircraft were registered in both Germany and the Soviet Union, began operations on 1 May 1922 with a Fokker F.III flying between Königsberg and Moscow.[19]: 2  The service was initially operated twice a week and restricted to the carriage of mail.[19]: 2–3 

On 3 February 1923, Sovnarkom approved plans for the expansion of the Red Air Fleet, and it is this date which was officially recognised as the beginning of civil aviation in the Soviet Union.[19]: 2  On 9 February 1923, the Council of Labour and Defence passed a resolution to create the Civil Air Fleet of the USSR.[20][21]: 119  After a resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Enterprise for Friends of the Air Fleet (ODVF) was founded on 8 March 1923.[19]: 2  Dobrolet (Russian: Добролёт) was formed on 17[19]: 2  or 25 March 1923.[20] The artist Alexander Rodchenko became involved in the ODVF at this time. He designed posters encouraging citizens to buy stock in Dobrolet and the famous "Winged Hammer and Sickle" logo still used by Aeroflot.[22] Regular flights by Dobrolyot from Moscow to Nizhniy Novgorod commenced on 15 July 1923. During the same period, an additional two airlines were established; Zakavia being based in Tiflis, and Ukrvozdukhput based in Kharkov.[19]: 2  In 1923, an agreement was signed establishing a subdivision of Dobrolyot to be based in Tashkent, which would operate to points in Soviet Central Asia. Services between Tashkent and Alma Ata began on 27 April 1924, and by the end of 1924 the subdivision had carried 480 passengers and 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of mail and freight, on a total of 210 flights.[19]: 6  In March 1924, Dobrolyot began operating flights from Sevastopol to Yalta and Yevpatoriya in the Crimea. Dobrolyot's route network was extended during the 1925–1927 period to include Kazan and regular flights between Moscow and Kharkov were inaugurated. Plans were made for Dobrolyot flights to Kharkov to connect with Ukrvozdukhput services to Kiev, Odessa and Rostov-on-Don. In 1925, Dobrolyot operated 2,000 flights over a distance of 1,000,000 kilometres (620,000 mi), carrying 14,000 passengers and 127,500 kilograms (281,100 lb) of freight, on a route network extending to some 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi).[19]: 7  Dobrolyot was transformed from a Russian to an all-Union enterprise on 21 September 1926 as a result of Sovnarkom resolutions, and in 1928 Dobrolyot was merged with Ukrvozdukhput; the latter having merged with Zakavia in 1925.[19]: 6–7 

Formative years edit

 
The Tupolev ANT-20bis was used for cargo flights from Moscow to Mineralnye Vody before World War II.

Responsibility for all civil aviation activities in the Soviet Union came under the control of the Chief Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet on 25 February 1932, and on 25 March 1932 the name "Aeroflot" was officially adopted for the entire Soviet Civil Air Fleet.[19]: 10  The Communist Party of the Soviet Union Congress in 1933 set out development plans for the civil aviation industry for the following five years, with air transportation becoming one of the primary means of transportation in the Soviet Union, linking all major cities. The government also implemented plans to expand the Soviet aircraft industry to make it less dependent on foreign built aircraft;[19]: 10–11  in 1930 some fifty percent of aircraft flying services in the Soviet Union were of foreign manufacture.[19]: 8  Expansion of air routes which had taken shape in the late 1920s,[19]: 8  continued into the 1930s. Local (MVL) services were greatly expanded in Soviet Central Asia and the Soviet Far East,[19]: 11–13  which by the end of the second five-year plan in 1937 was 35,000 kilometres (22,000 mi) in length out of a total network of some 93,300 kilometres (58,000 mi).[19]: 13  The agreement between the Soviet Union and Germany relating to Deruluft expired on 1 January 1937 and wasn't renewed, which saw the joint venture carrier ceasing operations on 1 April 1937. On that date Aeroflot began operations on the Moscow to Stockholm route, and began operating the ex-Deruluft route from Leningrad to Riga utilising Douglas DC-3s and Tupolev ANT-35s (PS-35s). Flights from Moscow to Berlin, via Königsberg, were suspended until 1940, when they were restarted by Aeroflot and Deutsche Luft Hansa as a result of the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, and they continued until the opening of the Eastern Front in World War II in 1941.[19]: 5 

 
An Aeroflot PS-84 (a Douglas DC-3, modified by fitment of Soviet engines) at Moscow City Airport in 1940. The Lisunov Li-2, a license-built version of the DC-3, became the backbone of the Aeroflot fleet after the opening of the Eastern Front in World War II.

Under the third five-year plan, which began in 1938, civil aviation development continued, with improvements to airport installations being made and construction of airports being commenced. In addition to the expansion of services between the Soviet Union's main cities, local routes (MVL) were also expanded, and by 1940, some 337 MVL routes saw operations on a scheduled basis. Serial production of the Lisunov Li-2 (license-built Douglas DC-3) commenced in 1939, and the aircraft became the backbone of the Aeroflot fleet on mainline trunk routes. At the start of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany, on 22 June 1941, the following day the Sovnarkom placed the Civil Air Fleet under the control of Narkomat, leading to the full-scale mobilisation of Aeroflot crews and technicians for the Soviet war effort. Prior to the invasion, the Aeroflot network extended over some 146,000 kilometres (91,000 mi), and amongst the longest routes being operated from Moscow were those to Tbilisi (via Baku), Tashkent and Vladivostok.[19]: 13  Aeroflot aircraft, including PS-35s and PS-43s, were based at Moscow's Central Airport; and important missions undertaken by Aeroflot aircraft and crews included flying supplies to the besieged cities of Leningrad, Kyiv, Odessa and Sevastopol.[19]: 14  During the Battle of Stalingrad, between August 1942 and February 1943, Aeroflot operated 46,000 missions to Stalingrad, ferrying in 2,587 tonnes (5,703,000 lb) of supplies and some 30,000 troops. Following the defeat of the Wehrmacht, some 80 Junkers Ju 52/3ms were captured from the Germans, and were placed into the service of the Civil Air Fleet, and after the war were placed into regular service across the Soviet Union.[19]: 15  Whilst civil operations in European Russia west of the front line, which ran from Leningrad to Moscow to Rostov-on-Don, were prevented from operating because of the war, services from Moscow to the Urals, Siberia, Central Asia, and other regions which were not affected by the war, continued.[19]: 15–16  By the end of the war, Aeroflot had flown 1,595,943 special missions, including 83,782 at night, and carried 1,538,982 men and 122,027 tonnes (269,023,000 lb) of cargo.[19]: 16 

Aeroflot during the Cold War edit

 
After its introduction in 1954, the Ilyushin Il-14 operated on Aeroflot's All-Union services.

At the end of World War II, the Soviet government went about repairing and rebuilding essential airport infrastructure, and it strengthened the Aeroflot units in the European part of the Soviet Union. Aeroflot had by the end of 1945 carried 537,000 passengers, compared with 359,000 in 1940.[19]: 16  The government made it a priority in the immediate postwar years to expand services from Moscow to the capital of the Union republics, in addition to important industrial centres on the country. To enable this, the government transferred to Aeroflot a large number of Lisunov Li-2s, and they became the backbone of the Aeroflot fleet.[19]: 17  The Ilyushin Il-12 entered service on Aeroflot's all-Union scheduled routes on 22 August 1947, and supplemented already existing Li-2 services. The original Ilyushin Il-18 entered service around the same time as the Il-12, and was operated on routes from Moscow to Yakutsk, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Alma Ata, Tashkent, Sochi, Mineralnye Vody and Tbilisi. By 1950 the Il-18 was withdrawn from service, being replaced by Il-12s.[19]: 18, 20  MVL and general aviation services received a boost in March 1948, when the first Antonov An-2s were delivered and entered service in Central Russia. Development of MVL services over latter years was attributed to the An-2, which was operated by Aeroflot in all areas of the Soviet Union.[19]: 20 

 
Aeroflot became the first airline in the world with sustained jet aircraft service, when it introduced the Tupolev Tu-104 in 1956.

Aeroflot's route network had extended to 295,400 kilometres (183,600 mi) by 1950, and it carried 1,603,700 passengers, 151,070 tonnes (333,050,000 lb) of freight and 30,580 tonnes (67,420,000 lb) of mail that year. Night flights began in the same year, and the fifth five-year plan, covering the period 1951–1955, emphasised Aeroflot expanding night-time operations, which vastly improved aircraft utilisation. By 1952, some 700 destinations around the Soviet Union received regular flights from Aeroflot.[19]: 20  On 30 November 1954, the Ilyushin Il-14 entered service, and the aircraft took a leading role in the operation of Aeroflot's all-Union services. The number of passengers carried in 1955 increased to 2,500,000, whilst freight and mail carriage also increased, to 194,960 and 63,760 tons, respectively. By this time, Aeroflot's route network covered a distance of some 321,500 kilometres (199,800 mi).[19]: 21  The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, held in 1956, included plans for Aeroflot services to be dramatically increased 3.8 times, with a target of 16,000,000 annual passengers by 1960. To meet these goals, Aeroflot introduced higher capacity turbojet and turbine-prop aircraft on key domestic routes, and on services to Aeroflot destinations abroad. A major step for Aeroflot occurred on 15 September 1956 when the Tupolev Tu-104 jet aircraft entered service on the Moscow-Omsk-Irkutsk route, marking the world's first sustained jet airline service. The airline began international flights with the type on 12 October 1956 under the command of Boris Bugayev with flights from Moscow to Prague. The aircraft placed Aeroflot in an enviable position, as airlines in the West had operated throughout the 1950s with large piston-engined aircraft.[19]: 21 [23]: 44  By 1958, the route network covered 349,200 kilometres (217,000 mi), and the airline carried 8,231,500 passengers, and 445,600 tons of mail and freight, with fifteen percent of all-Union services being operated by jet aircraft.[19]: 23 

 
The Yakovlev Yak-40, introduced in September 1968.[citation needed]

Aeroflot introduced the Antonov An-10 and Ilyushin Il-18 in 1959, and together with its existing jet aircraft, the airline was able to extend services on modern aircraft to twenty one cities by 1960.[19]: 23  The Tupolev Tu-114, then the world's largest airliner, entered service with the Soviet carrier on 24 April 1961 on the Moscow-Khabarovsk route; covering a distance of 6,980 kilometres (4,340 mi) in 8 hours 20 minutes.[19]: 24  The expansion of the Aeroflot fleet saw services with modern aircraft being extended to forty one cities in 1961, with fifty percent of all-Union services being operated by these aircraft. This fleet expansion also saw the number of passengers carried in 1961 skyrocketing to 21,800,000.[19]: 24  Further expansion came in 1962 when both the Tupolev Tu-124 and Antonov An-24 entered regular service with Aeroflot on various medium and short-haul routes. By 1964, Aeroflot operated direct flights from Moscow to 100 cities, from Leningrad to 44 cities, and from Kyiv to 38 cities. The airline also operated direct flights from Mineralnye Vody to 48 cities across the Soviet Union, denoting the importance of the operation of holiday aircraft services to Aeroflot.[19]: 26  Statistics for the same year showed Aeroflot operating an all-Union route network extending over 400,000 kilometres (250,000 mi), and carrying 36,800,000 passengers.[19]: 27 

By 1966 Aeroflot carried 47,200,000 passengers over a domestic route network of 474,600 kilometres (294,900 mi). For the period of the eighth five-year plan, which ran from 1966 to 1970, Aeroflot carried a total of 302,200,000 passengers, 6.47 billion tons of freight and 1.63 billion tons of mail.[19]: 27  During the five-year plan period, all-Union services were extended over an additional 350 routes; an additional 1,000 MVL routes were begun, and 40 new routes were opened up with all-cargo flights.[19]: 27–28  In 1967, the Ilyushin Il-62 and Tupolev Tu-134 were introduced, and in September 1968 the Yakovlev Yak-40 regional jet began operations on short-haul services. That same year, the Il-62 inaugurated the long-delayed service between Moscow and New York, which finally began in July and was operated by Aeroflot and Pan Am jointly. According to the book The Aeroflot Story: From Russia With Luck: "This business relationship became an acrimonious affair in which both parties complained it had been wronged by the other. Pan Am accused the Soviets of illegally siphoning away Moscow-to-New York passengers, whilst in turn; Aeroflot accused US consular officials in Russia of having steered passengers to Pan Am flights."[24][page needed][25] In 1968, the company opened its first office in the United States.[26]

 
Flag of Aeroflot (1961–1991)

By 1970, the last year of the five-year plan period, Aeroflot was operating flights to over 3,500 destinations in the Soviet Union, and at the height of the 1970 summer holidays season, the airline was carrying approximately 400,000 passengers per day, and some ninety percent of passengers were being carried on propeller-turbine and jet aircraft.[19]: 28  In March 1970, Aeroflot had amassed a route network that was 600,000 kilometres (370,000 miles) long, a quarter of which covered international destinations. At this time, the carrier had agreements with 59 countries but it only served 54 of them, including 55 destinations.[27]: 463  In January 1971, the Central Administration of International Air Traffic (Russian: Центральное управление международных воздушных сообщений) (TsUMVS) was established within the framework of IATA, and became the sole enterprise authorised to operate international flights. Abroad, the airline was known as Aeroflot Soviet Airlines. In 1976, Aeroflot carried its 100 millionth passenger. Its flights were mainly concentrated around the Soviet Union, but the airline also had an international network covering five continents: North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. The network included countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Cuba, Mexico and the People's Republic of China.[28]

Aeroflot service between the Soviet Union and the United States was interrupted from 15 September 1983 until 2 August 1990, following an executive order by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, revoking Aeroflot's license to operate flights into and out of the United States following the downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 by the Soviet Air Force. Flights resumed in April 1986.[29] At the start of the 1990s Aeroflot reorganised again giving more autonomy to territorial divisions. REG Davies, former curator of the Smithsonian Institution, claims that by 1992 Aeroflot had over 600,000 people operating over 10,000 aircraft.[23]: 92, 94 

Other functions edit

 
An Aeroflot Mi-10 heavy lift helicopter seen at Groningen Airport in the early 1970s

Once the world's largest carrier,[30]: 1389  Aeroflot did not restrict its operations to the transportation of passengers, but monopolised all civil aviation activities within the Soviet Union. Apart from passenger transportation that covered a domestic network of over 3,600 villages, towns and cities, activities undertaken by the airline that were labelled as "non-transport tasks" included air ambulance; aerial application; heavy lifting for the Soviet Space Agency; offshore oil platform support; exploration and aeromagnetic survey for natural resources; support for construction projects; transport of military troops and supplies (as an adjunct to the Soviet Air Force); atmospheric research; and remote area patrol. It operated hundreds of helicopters and cargo aircraft in addition to civil airliners. It also operated the Soviet equivalent of a presidential aircraft and other VIP transports of government and Communist party officials.[23]: 94 [30]: 1389 [31] Aeroflot was also responsible for such services as ice patrol in the Arctic Ocean and escorting of ships through frozen seas; oil exploration; power line surveillance; and transportation and heavy lifting support on construction projects. For the latter tasks, Aeroflot used, in addition to smaller helicopters, the Mil Mi-10 flying crane capable of lifting 11,000 to 14,000 kilograms (24,000 to 31,000 lb). Hauling of heavy cargo, including vehicles, was performed by the world's largest operational helicopter, the Mil Mi-26. Its unusual eight-blade rotor enabled it to lift a maximum payload of some twenty tons. The medium- and long-range passenger- and cargo aircraft of Aeroflot were also part of the strategic air transport reserve, ready to provide immediate airlift support to the armed forces. Short-range aircraft and helicopters were available for appropriate military support missions.

Post-Soviet Aeroflot edit

 
The "winged hammer and sickle" is the most recognisable symbol of Aeroflot.

After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, service expanded significantly.[32] Up until that time, Aeroflot had been the only establishment providing air services throughout the Soviet Union, but with its breakup Aeroflot branches of these countries began their own services, and the airline itself came under control of Russia, the largest of the CIS republics, and was renamed Aeroflot – Russian International Airlines (ARIA).[33][34] In 1992, Aeroflot was divided into approximately 400 regional airlines informally known as Babyflots, which included BAL Bashkirian Airlines, KrasAir, Moscow Airways and Tatarstan Airlines, with Aeroflot keeping the international routes.[33][35]

In 1994, Aeroflot was registered as a joint-stock company and the government sold off 49% of its stake to Aeroflot employees. In the 1990s, Aeroflot was primarily focused on international flights from Moscow. However, by the end of the decade Aeroflot started an expansion in the domestic market. In 2000, the company name was changed to Aeroflot – Russian Airlines to reflect the change in the company strategy.[36] The Aeroflot fleet shrank dramatically in the post-Soviet era, dropping from 5,400 planes in 1991 to 115 in 1996.[33]

 
A new Airbus A321 holds for departure whilst an Ilyushin Il-96 lands at Aeroflot's Moscow-Sheremetyevo hub

Since the dissolution, Aeroflot has been actively working towards promoting and redefining itself as a safe and reliable airline.[37] In the early 2000s, the airline hired British consultants for rebranding.[38] From the start, plans were afoot to replace the hammer and sickle logo, a symbol of Soviet communism; despite this the logo was not scrapped, as it was the most recognisable symbol of the company for over 70 years.[38] A new Aircraft livery and uniforms for flight attendants were designed and a promotional campaign launched in 2003.[39] Its fleet has undergone a major reorganisation during which most of the Soviet aircraft were replaced by Western-built jets; concerns over fuel consumption rather than safety concerns were cited for such a move.[40] Airbus A319s and A320s for short-haul flights in Europe; and Boeing 767s and Airbus A330s for long-haul routes; were gradually incorporated into the Aeroflot fleet. Aeroflot began working with the US travel technology firm Sabre Corporation in 1997, and in 2004 signed an agreement to use Sabre's software as its new Reservation System,[41] further extending the relationship with Sabre in 2010.[42] In the spring of 2004 an expansion on the domestic market was undertaken, aiming to gain 30% share by 2010 (as of 2006 it held approximately 9%). The first task was to outperform Siberia Airlines (now S7 Airlines), a major rival and the leader in the domestic market. On 29 July 2004 a new corporate slogan was adopted: "Sincerely Yours. Aeroflot".[43]

In April 2006, Aeroflot became the tenth airline to join SkyTeam,[44] and the first air carrier in the former Soviet Union to do so. The company announced plans to increase cargo operations. It registered the Aeroflot-Cargo trademark in 2006.

Aeroflot became the sole shareholder of Donavia—a domestic airline then-named Aeroflot-Don[45]—in December 2006, when it boosted its stake in the company from 51% to 100%; soon afterwards, Aeroflot-Nord was created following the buyout of Arkhangelsk Airlines.[46]

Expansion and re-organization edit

 
Rossiya Airlines' Boeing 777-300 in the new livery lands at Pulkovo Airport in 2016. In November 2011, Aeroflot received 75% minus one share of Rossiya along with the shares of four other carriers.[47]

In December 2009, Aeroflot-Cargo merged into the parent as part of a bankruptcy reorganization of the subsidiary.[48]

In November 2011, Rostec, a state agency, merged five airlines it owned - Vladivostok Avia, Saravia, Rossiya Airlines, SAT Airlines and Orenair - into Aeroflot, acquiring an additional 3.5% of the company in a ₽2.5 billion deal.[49] Saravia was then sold to private investors.[50] In September 2013, Aurora (originally called Taiga) was created, combining Vladivostok Air and SAT Airlines.[51][52][53][54]

In June 2013, at the World Airline Awards which took place at the 50th Le Bourget air show, Aeroflot was awarded the international prize as the best air carrier in Eastern Europe.[55]

In October 2013, the company introduced an affiliated low-cost carrier (LCC), Dobrolet.[56] It started operations in June 2014;[57] however, it ceased on 4 August 2014 (2014-08-04) due to EU sanctions over the airline launching flights to Crimea.[58][59] In late August 2014, Aeroflot announced the launch of Pobeda, a new LCC to replace Dobrolet using aircraft transferred from Orenair.[60] It started operations from Vnukovo Airport in December 2014.[61][62][63]

In March 2014, as a response to the Revolution of Dignity, the company announced rerouting of flights to avoid flying over Ukraine.[64][65] Also, in March 2014, Aeroflot's IATA airline designator ″SU″ was adopted by its subsidiary Rossiya.[47] In September 2015, Aeroflot agreed to acquire 75% of Transaero Airlines for the symbolic price of one ruble,[66] but abandoned the plan after failing to come to terms on a takeover.[67] Aeroflot instead took over several of Transaero's aircraft by assuming its leases after the defunct airline's collapse. This introduced the Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 to the Aeroflot fleet. In addition, the company suggested that it would cancel some of its jet orders as a result of the newly assumed aircraft.[68]

Subsidiaries Rossiya Airlines, Donavia and Orenair combined operations in late March 2016.[69] Orenair's AOC was cancelled by Russian authorities in late May 2016 (2016-05).[70][71] Donavia and Orenair were declared bankrupt in 2017.[70][72]

In June 2018, the company signed a codeshare agreement with Aerolineas Argentinas.[73]

In December 2020, the company sold its 51% stake in Aurora to Sakhalin Region Development Corporation for ₽1.[74][75]

2022 airspace bans and sanctions edit

In February and March 2022, as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Aeroflot and other Russian airlines were banned from the airspace of many countries.[76][77][78][79][80] Russian airlines were added to the list of air carriers banned in the European Union for safety reasons because planes were re-registered in Russia and no longer had foreign airworthiness certificates.[81] The U.S. Department of Commerce banned companies from servicing Boeing planes operated by Aeroflot, Aviastar, Azur Air, Belavia, Rossiya and Utair.[82] Manchester United F.C. cancelled its sponsorship agreement that made Aeroflot its official carrier since July 2013.[83][84] Sabre Corporation and others removed access by Aeroflot to their computer reservation systems and global distribution systems.[85]

In response to the international sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Aeroflot migrated to a Russian-based passenger service system,[86] began sourcing aircraft parts via obscure trading companies, free-trade zones and middlemen in countries that have not imposed sanctions on Russia such as United Arab Emirates and China,[87][88][89] and placed orders for Russian-made jets such as the Yakovlev MC-21 to reduce its dependence on foreign-made jets.[90][91][18]

In September 2023, Aeroflot paid $645 million to acquire 17 aircraft and five spare jet engines that were leased to Aeroflot and owned by AerCap and were stranded in Russia upon the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[92]

Corporate affairs edit

Headquarters edit

 
Aeroflot headquarters are in the light yellow building, 10 Arbat Street, Moscow

The headquarters of Aeroflot are in Arbat District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow.[93] In 2009, Aeroflot leased 7,000 square metres (75,000 sq ft) of space from a class A office building on Arbat Street owned by Midland Development. As of that year Aeroflot had plans to build a dedicated 35,000-square-metre (380,000 sq ft) headquarters in proximity to Sheremetyevo Airport.[94]

Management history edit

Valery Okulov, a son-in-law of Boris Yeltsin, was CEO of the company until 2009. Vitaly Savelyev was CEO of the company from 2009 to 2020.[95][96] In December 2018, the Russian government appointed Russia's Minister of Transport Evgeny Ditrich as chairman of the board.[97]

Ownership and subsidiaries edit

The Federal Agency for State Property Management, an agency of the Government of Russia, owns 73.77% of the company, with the rest of the shares being public float.[12]

The company owns airline subsidiaries Pobeda and Rossiya Airlines.[3]

Destinations edit

Main article: List of Aeroflot destinations

In September 2018, Aeroflot served 146 destinations in 52 countries.[10] In 2022, the number of destinations was significantly reduced after many countries banned Russian aircraft as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[14] It currently operates service to/from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.[15][16][5]

Alliances edit

 
Aeroflot Airbus A320-200 in SkyTeam livery

Between April 2006 and 27 April 2022, Aeroflot was a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance,[44] having signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 24 May 2004.[98] On 27 April 2022, SkyTeam and Aeroflot agreed to temporarily suspend the airline's membership as part of corporate responses to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[99]

Although Aeroflot did not meet the conventional standards of the alliance at the time, SkyTeam saw potential in the airline's large hub networks and decided that it made up for the airline's deficiencies.[100]

Aeroflot's cargo branch, Aeroflot-Cargo, which was later reintegrated into the parent company, operated as part of SkyTeam Cargo.[101]

Codeshare agreements edit

Aeroflot has no active codeshare agreements with any international airlines; it only has active codeshare agreements the following airlines:[102]

Fleet edit

 
Aeroflot Group fleet size as of 2020
See also: Aeroflot fleet

The Aeroflot fleet consists of narrow-body and wide-body aircraft from five aircraft families: the Airbus A320, the Airbus A330, the Airbus A350 XWB, the Boeing 737, and the Boeing 777. The fleet, excluding subsidiaries, includes 178 airplanes: 119 Airbus planes and 59 Boeing planes, including 7 that are blocked outside the Russian Federation.[3] However, as a result of international sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the company has ordered over 300 Russian-made jets and plans on making the Yakovlev MC-21 its flagship plane.[18]

Frequent flyer programme edit

 
Aeroflot Bonus logo

Aeroflot's frequent-flyer program is called Aeroflot Bonus. It has four levels with various perks.[103]

Accidents and incidents edit

For a more comprehensive list, see Aeroflot accidents and incidents.

Aeroflot has had a total of 8,231 passengers dying in Aeroflot crashes according to the Aircraft Crashes Record Office, mostly during the Soviet era, about five times more than any other airline.[104][105] From 1946 to 1989, the carrier was involved in 721 incidents. In 2013, AirlineRatings.com reported that five of the ten aircraft models involved in the highest numbers of fatal accidents[106] were old Soviet models.[104] From 1992 to 2020, the carrier was involved in 14 incidents; since 1996, only one incident has resulted in fatalities.[107]

Criticism edit

Incidents with flight attendants edit

In May 2012, Aeroflot fired 19-year-old flight attendant Yekaterina Solovyova for mocking the crash of a Sukhoi Superjet at Mount Salak in a Twitter post where she wrote: ""What, a Superjet crashed? Hahaha! Piece of crap! It's a pity it's not Aeroflot's, there would be one less and maybe they would even sell the rest back to someone".[108] Solovyova later said she had misworded her thoughts about the aircraft's design flaws: "I flew on the Superjet several times. And there the doors did not close several times, there were also problems with the water supply... Flights were delayed because of this... I just wanted to say that these planes should be taken out of service of our airline. I didn’t want to offend the relatives of the victims. I regret my words".[109]

In January 2013, Aeroflot fired another flight attendant, Tatyana Kozlenko, for posting an image with a middle finger gesture directed to passengers in a cabin on her VKontakte account.[110]

In April 2018, Aeroflot reported it would fire one more flight attendant after a passenger complained that on a flight from Moscow to Kaliningrad the flight attendant had announced Kaliningrad in English as Königsberg, its former German name.[111]

Allegations of discrimination against overweight flight attendants edit

In 2016, the company linked the pay of its flight attendants to their dress sizes. All the flight attendants were photographed and measured, and some were weighed. Women above a Russian size 48 were barred from international flights.[112] According to the flight attendants' trade union, the policy affected about 600 Aeroflot attendants. The company successfully defended itself in court in April 2017 by saying that a survey of Aeroflot passengers showed that "92% want to see stewardesses who fit into the clothes sizes we are talking about here"[113] and that every extra kilogram meant spending an extra ₽800 per year on fuel.[114] The company denied all the accusations of discrimination.[115] In September 2017, the appeal court decided that requirements banning employment by women who wore large sizes was unenforceable and ordered ₽5,000 in compensation plus back pay for Yevgenia Magurina, a flight attendant who filed a discrimination suit; however, the court did not rule explicitly that the policy was discriminatory.[116][117]

Ban on employee smartphone use edit

In November 2018, the company's executive director Vitaly Savelyev signed new rules, according to which employees of the Moscow office of the airline were forbidden to bring and use smartphones at work, allegedly to prevent them from taking videos.[118]

See also edit

References edit

  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division.

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Bibliography edit

  • Buckley, Christopher (2022). Soviet-Era Airliners: The Final Three Decades. Historic Commercial Aircraft Series, Vol 1. Stamford, Lincs, UK: Key Publishing. ISBN 9781913870621.
  • Jones, Mark (2018). The Aeroflot Story: From Russia With Luck. Chronik Europa. ISBN 978-1981094714.
  • Davies, R.E.G. (1992). Aeroflot: An Airline and Its Aircraft (1st ed.). Rockville, Maryland: Paladwr Press. ISBN 978-0-9626483-1-1.
  • MacDonald, Hugh (1975). Aeroflot: Soviet air transport since 1923. Putnam. ISBN 978-0-370-00117-3.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Аэрофлот.
  • Official website (in Russian and English)

January 01, 1970
aeroflot, pjsc, russian, airlines, russian, ПАО, Аэрофло, Росси, йские, авиали, нии, rossiyskiye, avialinii, commonly, known, english, ɛər, ɛər, russian, Аэрофлот, transl, fleet, pronounced, ɐɛrɐˈfɫot, flag, carrier, largest, airline, russia, headquartered, ce. PJSC Aeroflot Russian Airlines Russian PAO Aeroflo t Rossi jskie aviali nii PAO Aeroflot Rossiyskiye avialinii commonly known as Aeroflot English ˈ ɛer oʊ ˌ f l ɒ t or ˌ ɛer oʊ ˈ f l ɒ t Russian Aeroflot transl air fleet pronounced ɐɛrɐˈfɫot is the flag carrier 9 10 and the largest airline of Russia 11 Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug Moscow with its hub being Sheremetyevo International Airport The Federal Agency for State Property Management an agency of the Government of Russia owns 73 77 of the company with the rest of the shares being public float 12 Aeroflot Russian AirlinesAeroflot Rossijskie avialiniiIATA ICAO Callsign SU AFL AEROFLOTFounded3 February 1923 101 years ago 1923 02 03 Commenced operations15 July 1923 100 years ago 1923 07 15 HubsKrasnoyarsk International 1 Moscow Sheremetyevo Saint Petersburg 2 Focus citiesIrkutsk 2 Khabarovsk 2 Sochi 2 Vladivostok 2 Yekaterinburg 2 Frequent flyer programAeroflot BonusAllianceSkyTeam suspended SkyTeam Cargo suspended SubsidiariesPobedaRossiya Airlines 3 Fleet size178 excluding subsidiaries 4 Destinations104 airline group 5 Traded asMCX AFLTHeadquartersMoscow RussiaKey peopleSergei Alexandrovsky Chairman CEO 6 Revenue 492 billion 7 2021 8 Operating income 5 01 billion 7 2021 Net income 34 5 billion 7 2021 Total assets 1 11 trillion 7 2021 Total equity 146 billion 7 2021 Employees30 328 Aeroflot Group Websitewww wbr aeroflot wbr ru www wbr aeroflot wbr com The airline was founded in 1923 making Aeroflot one of the oldest active airlines in the world During the time of the Soviet Union Aeroflot was one of the largest airlines in the world 13 In 1992 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union Aeroflot was divided into approximately 400 regional airlines informally known as Babyflots and was restructured into an open joint stock company It shrank its fleet dramatically switching to Western aircraft and expanding internationally In 2022 the number of destinations was significantly reduced after many countries banned Russian aircraft as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine 14 It currently operates service to from Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus China Cuba Egypt India Iran Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Maldives Mauritius Seychelles Sri Lanka Turkey United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan 15 16 5 It has a market share in Russia of approximately 37 8 17 Including subsidiaries the company carried 40 7 million passengers in 2022 3 Aeroflot also owns Rossiya Airlines and Pobeda a low cost carrier 3 The Aeroflot fleet excluding subsidiaries includes 178 airplanes 119 Airbus planes and 59 Boeing planes including 7 that are blocked outside the Russian Federation 3 However as a result of international sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine the company has ordered over 300 Russian made jets and plans on making the Yakovlev MC 21 its flagship plane 18 Contents 1 History 1 1 Early history of Soviet civil aviation 1 2 Formative years 1 3 Aeroflot during the Cold War 1 3 1 Other functions 1 4 Post Soviet Aeroflot 1 4 1 Expansion and re organization 1 4 2 2022 airspace bans and sanctions 2 Corporate affairs 2 1 Headquarters 2 2 Management history 2 3 Ownership and subsidiaries 3 Destinations 3 1 Alliances 3 2 Codeshare agreements 4 Fleet 5 Frequent flyer programme 6 Accidents and incidents 7 Criticism 7 1 Incidents with flight attendants 7 2 Allegations of discrimination against overweight flight attendants 7 3 Ban on employee smartphone use 8 See also 9 References 10 Bibliography 11 External linksHistory editEarly history of Soviet civil aviation edit nbsp An early Soviet poster calling on citizens to buy stock in Dobrolyot On 17 January 1921 the Sovnarkom of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic published About Air Transportation The document signed by its chair Vladimir Lenin set out the basic regulations on air transport over the territory of the RSFSR The document was significant as it was the first time that a Russian state had declared sovereignty over its airspace In addition the document defined rules for the operation of foreign aircraft over the Soviet Union s airspace and territory After Lenin issued an order a State Commission was formed on 31 January 1921 for the purpose of civil aviation planning in the Soviet Union As a result of the commission s plans Glavvozdukhflot Russian Glavvozduhflot Glavnoe upravlenie vozdushnogo flota Chief Administration of the Civil Air Fleet was established and it began mail and passenger flights on the Moscow Oryol Kursk Kharkov route on 1 May 1921 using Sikorsky Ilya Muromets aircraft 19 1 This was followed by the formation of Deruluft Deutsch Russische Luftverkehrs A G in Berlin on 11 November 1921 as a joint venture between the Soviet Union and Germany The company whose aircraft were registered in both Germany and the Soviet Union began operations on 1 May 1922 with a Fokker F III flying between Konigsberg and Moscow 19 2 The service was initially operated twice a week and restricted to the carriage of mail 19 2 3 On 3 February 1923 Sovnarkom approved plans for the expansion of the Red Air Fleet and it is this date which was officially recognised as the beginning of civil aviation in the Soviet Union 19 2 On 9 February 1923 the Council of Labour and Defence passed a resolution to create the Civil Air Fleet of the USSR 20 21 119 After a resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union the Enterprise for Friends of the Air Fleet ODVF was founded on 8 March 1923 19 2 Dobrolet Russian Dobrolyot was formed on 17 19 2 or 25 March 1923 20 The artist Alexander Rodchenko became involved in the ODVF at this time He designed posters encouraging citizens to buy stock in Dobrolet and the famous Winged Hammer and Sickle logo still used by Aeroflot 22 Regular flights by Dobrolyot from Moscow to Nizhniy Novgorod commenced on 15 July 1923 During the same period an additional two airlines were established Zakavia being based in Tiflis and Ukrvozdukhput based in Kharkov 19 2 In 1923 an agreement was signed establishing a subdivision of Dobrolyot to be based in Tashkent which would operate to points in Soviet Central Asia Services between Tashkent and Alma Ata began on 27 April 1924 and by the end of 1924 the subdivision had carried 480 passengers and 500 kilograms 1 100 lb of mail and freight on a total of 210 flights 19 6 In March 1924 Dobrolyot began operating flights from Sevastopol to Yalta and Yevpatoriya in the Crimea Dobrolyot s route network was extended during the 1925 1927 period to include Kazan and regular flights between Moscow and Kharkov were inaugurated Plans were made for Dobrolyot flights to Kharkov to connect with Ukrvozdukhput services to Kiev Odessa and Rostov on Don In 1925 Dobrolyot operated 2 000 flights over a distance of 1 000 000 kilometres 620 000 mi carrying 14 000 passengers and 127 500 kilograms 281 100 lb of freight on a route network extending to some 5 000 kilometres 3 100 mi 19 7 Dobrolyot was transformed from a Russian to an all Union enterprise on 21 September 1926 as a result of Sovnarkom resolutions and in 1928 Dobrolyot was merged with Ukrvozdukhput the latter having merged with Zakavia in 1925 19 6 7 Formative years edit nbsp The Tupolev ANT 20bis was used for cargo flights from Moscow to Mineralnye Vody before World War II Responsibility for all civil aviation activities in the Soviet Union came under the control of the Chief Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet on 25 February 1932 and on 25 March 1932 the name Aeroflot was officially adopted for the entire Soviet Civil Air Fleet 19 10 The Communist Party of the Soviet Union Congress in 1933 set out development plans for the civil aviation industry for the following five years with air transportation becoming one of the primary means of transportation in the Soviet Union linking all major cities The government also implemented plans to expand the Soviet aircraft industry to make it less dependent on foreign built aircraft 19 10 11 in 1930 some fifty percent of aircraft flying services in the Soviet Union were of foreign manufacture 19 8 Expansion of air routes which had taken shape in the late 1920s 19 8 continued into the 1930s Local MVL services were greatly expanded in Soviet Central Asia and the Soviet Far East 19 11 13 which by the end of the second five year plan in 1937 was 35 000 kilometres 22 000 mi in length out of a total network of some 93 300 kilometres 58 000 mi 19 13 The agreement between the Soviet Union and Germany relating to Deruluft expired on 1 January 1937 and wasn t renewed which saw the joint venture carrier ceasing operations on 1 April 1937 On that date Aeroflot began operations on the Moscow to Stockholm route and began operating the ex Deruluft route from Leningrad to Riga utilising Douglas DC 3s and Tupolev ANT 35s PS 35s Flights from Moscow to Berlin via Konigsberg were suspended until 1940 when they were restarted by Aeroflot and Deutsche Luft Hansa as a result of the signing of the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact and they continued until the opening of the Eastern Front in World War II in 1941 19 5 nbsp An Aeroflot PS 84 a Douglas DC 3 modified by fitment of Soviet engines at Moscow City Airport in 1940 The Lisunov Li 2 a license built version of the DC 3 became the backbone of the Aeroflot fleet after the opening of the Eastern Front in World War II Under the third five year plan which began in 1938 civil aviation development continued with improvements to airport installations being made and construction of airports being commenced In addition to the expansion of services between the Soviet Union s main cities local routes MVL were also expanded and by 1940 some 337 MVL routes saw operations on a scheduled basis Serial production of the Lisunov Li 2 license built Douglas DC 3 commenced in 1939 and the aircraft became the backbone of the Aeroflot fleet on mainline trunk routes At the start of Operation Barbarossa the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany on 22 June 1941 the following day the Sovnarkom placed the Civil Air Fleet under the control of Narkomat leading to the full scale mobilisation of Aeroflot crews and technicians for the Soviet war effort Prior to the invasion the Aeroflot network extended over some 146 000 kilometres 91 000 mi and amongst the longest routes being operated from Moscow were those to Tbilisi via Baku Tashkent and Vladivostok 19 13 Aeroflot aircraft including PS 35s and PS 43s were based at Moscow s Central Airport and important missions undertaken by Aeroflot aircraft and crews included flying supplies to the besieged cities of Leningrad Kyiv Odessa and Sevastopol 19 14 During the Battle of Stalingrad between August 1942 and February 1943 Aeroflot operated 46 000 missions to Stalingrad ferrying in 2 587 tonnes 5 703 000 lb of supplies and some 30 000 troops Following the defeat of the Wehrmacht some 80 Junkers Ju 52 3ms were captured from the Germans and were placed into the service of the Civil Air Fleet and after the war were placed into regular service across the Soviet Union 19 15 Whilst civil operations in European Russia west of the front line which ran from Leningrad to Moscow to Rostov on Don were prevented from operating because of the war services from Moscow to the Urals Siberia Central Asia and other regions which were not affected by the war continued 19 15 16 By the end of the war Aeroflot had flown 1 595 943 special missions including 83 782 at night and carried 1 538 982 men and 122 027 tonnes 269 023 000 lb of cargo 19 16 Aeroflot during the Cold War edit nbsp After its introduction in 1954 the Ilyushin Il 14 operated on Aeroflot s All Union services At the end of World War II the Soviet government went about repairing and rebuilding essential airport infrastructure and it strengthened the Aeroflot units in the European part of the Soviet Union Aeroflot had by the end of 1945 carried 537 000 passengers compared with 359 000 in 1940 19 16 The government made it a priority in the immediate postwar years to expand services from Moscow to the capital of the Union republics in addition to important industrial centres on the country To enable this the government transferred to Aeroflot a large number of Lisunov Li 2s and they became the backbone of the Aeroflot fleet 19 17 The Ilyushin Il 12 entered service on Aeroflot s all Union scheduled routes on 22 August 1947 and supplemented already existing Li 2 services The original Ilyushin Il 18 entered service around the same time as the Il 12 and was operated on routes from Moscow to Yakutsk Khabarovsk Vladivostok Alma Ata Tashkent Sochi Mineralnye Vody and Tbilisi By 1950 the Il 18 was withdrawn from service being replaced by Il 12s 19 18 20 MVL and general aviation services received a boost in March 1948 when the first Antonov An 2s were delivered and entered service in Central Russia Development of MVL services over latter years was attributed to the An 2 which was operated by Aeroflot in all areas of the Soviet Union 19 20 nbsp Aeroflot became the first airline in the world with sustained jet aircraft service when it introduced the Tupolev Tu 104 in 1956 Aeroflot s route network had extended to 295 400 kilometres 183 600 mi by 1950 and it carried 1 603 700 passengers 151 070 tonnes 333 050 000 lb of freight and 30 580 tonnes 67 420 000 lb of mail that year Night flights began in the same year and the fifth five year plan covering the period 1951 1955 emphasised Aeroflot expanding night time operations which vastly improved aircraft utilisation By 1952 some 700 destinations around the Soviet Union received regular flights from Aeroflot 19 20 On 30 November 1954 the Ilyushin Il 14 entered service and the aircraft took a leading role in the operation of Aeroflot s all Union services The number of passengers carried in 1955 increased to 2 500 000 whilst freight and mail carriage also increased to 194 960 and 63 760 tons respectively By this time Aeroflot s route network covered a distance of some 321 500 kilometres 199 800 mi 19 21 The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union held in 1956 included plans for Aeroflot services to be dramatically increased 3 8 times with a target of 16 000 000 annual passengers by 1960 To meet these goals Aeroflot introduced higher capacity turbojet and turbine prop aircraft on key domestic routes and on services to Aeroflot destinations abroad A major step for Aeroflot occurred on 15 September 1956 when the Tupolev Tu 104 jet aircraft entered service on the Moscow Omsk Irkutsk route marking the world s first sustained jet airline service The airline began international flights with the type on 12 October 1956 under the command of Boris Bugayev with flights from Moscow to Prague The aircraft placed Aeroflot in an enviable position as airlines in the West had operated throughout the 1950s with large piston engined aircraft 19 21 23 44 By 1958 the route network covered 349 200 kilometres 217 000 mi and the airline carried 8 231 500 passengers and 445 600 tons of mail and freight with fifteen percent of all Union services being operated by jet aircraft 19 23 nbsp The Yakovlev Yak 40 introduced in September 1968 citation needed Aeroflot introduced the Antonov An 10 and Ilyushin Il 18 in 1959 and together with its existing jet aircraft the airline was able to extend services on modern aircraft to twenty one cities by 1960 19 23 The Tupolev Tu 114 then the world s largest airliner entered service with the Soviet carrier on 24 April 1961 on the Moscow Khabarovsk route covering a distance of 6 980 kilometres 4 340 mi in 8 hours 20 minutes 19 24 The expansion of the Aeroflot fleet saw services with modern aircraft being extended to forty one cities in 1961 with fifty percent of all Union services being operated by these aircraft This fleet expansion also saw the number of passengers carried in 1961 skyrocketing to 21 800 000 19 24 Further expansion came in 1962 when both the Tupolev Tu 124 and Antonov An 24 entered regular service with Aeroflot on various medium and short haul routes By 1964 Aeroflot operated direct flights from Moscow to 100 cities from Leningrad to 44 cities and from Kyiv to 38 cities The airline also operated direct flights from Mineralnye Vody to 48 cities across the Soviet Union denoting the importance of the operation of holiday aircraft services to Aeroflot 19 26 Statistics for the same year showed Aeroflot operating an all Union route network extending over 400 000 kilometres 250 000 mi and carrying 36 800 000 passengers 19 27 By 1966 Aeroflot carried 47 200 000 passengers over a domestic route network of 474 600 kilometres 294 900 mi For the period of the eighth five year plan which ran from 1966 to 1970 Aeroflot carried a total of 302 200 000 passengers 6 47 billion tons of freight and 1 63 billion tons of mail 19 27 During the five year plan period all Union services were extended over an additional 350 routes an additional 1 000 MVL routes were begun and 40 new routes were opened up with all cargo flights 19 27 28 In 1967 the Ilyushin Il 62 and Tupolev Tu 134 were introduced and in September 1968 the Yakovlev Yak 40 regional jet began operations on short haul services That same year the Il 62 inaugurated the long delayed service between Moscow and New York which finally began in July and was operated by Aeroflot and Pan Am jointly According to the book The Aeroflot Story From Russia With Luck This business relationship became an acrimonious affair in which both parties complained it had been wronged by the other Pan Am accused the Soviets of illegally siphoning away Moscow to New York passengers whilst in turn Aeroflot accused US consular officials in Russia of having steered passengers to Pan Am flights 24 page needed 25 In 1968 the company opened its first office in the United States 26 nbsp Flag of Aeroflot 1961 1991 By 1970 the last year of the five year plan period Aeroflot was operating flights to over 3 500 destinations in the Soviet Union and at the height of the 1970 summer holidays season the airline was carrying approximately 400 000 passengers per day and some ninety percent of passengers were being carried on propeller turbine and jet aircraft 19 28 In March 1970 Aeroflot had amassed a route network that was 600 000 kilometres 370 000 miles long a quarter of which covered international destinations At this time the carrier had agreements with 59 countries but it only served 54 of them including 55 destinations 27 463 In January 1971 the Central Administration of International Air Traffic Russian Centralnoe upravlenie mezhdunarodnyh vozdushnyh soobshenij TsUMVS was established within the framework of IATA and became the sole enterprise authorised to operate international flights Abroad the airline was known as Aeroflot Soviet Airlines In 1976 Aeroflot carried its 100 millionth passenger Its flights were mainly concentrated around the Soviet Union but the airline also had an international network covering five continents North and South America Europe Africa and Asia The network included countries such as the United States Canada United Kingdom Spain Cuba Mexico and the People s Republic of China 28 Aeroflot service between the Soviet Union and the United States was interrupted from 15 September 1983 until 2 August 1990 following an executive order by U S President Ronald Reagan revoking Aeroflot s license to operate flights into and out of the United States following the downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 by the Soviet Air Force Flights resumed in April 1986 29 At the start of the 1990s Aeroflot reorganised again giving more autonomy to territorial divisions REG Davies former curator of the Smithsonian Institution claims that by 1992 Aeroflot had over 600 000 people operating over 10 000 aircraft 23 92 94 Other functions edit nbsp An Aeroflot Mi 10 heavy lift helicopter seen at Groningen Airport in the early 1970s Once the world s largest carrier 30 1389 Aeroflot did not restrict its operations to the transportation of passengers but monopolised all civil aviation activities within the Soviet Union Apart from passenger transportation that covered a domestic network of over 3 600 villages towns and cities activities undertaken by the airline that were labelled as non transport tasks included air ambulance aerial application heavy lifting for the Soviet Space Agency offshore oil platform support exploration and aeromagnetic survey for natural resources support for construction projects transport of military troops and supplies as an adjunct to the Soviet Air Force atmospheric research and remote area patrol It operated hundreds of helicopters and cargo aircraft in addition to civil airliners It also operated the Soviet equivalent of a presidential aircraft and other VIP transports of government and Communist party officials 23 94 30 1389 31 Aeroflot was also responsible for such services as ice patrol in the Arctic Ocean and escorting of ships through frozen seas oil exploration power line surveillance and transportation and heavy lifting support on construction projects For the latter tasks Aeroflot used in addition to smaller helicopters the Mil Mi 10 flying crane capable of lifting 11 000 to 14 000 kilograms 24 000 to 31 000 lb Hauling of heavy cargo including vehicles was performed by the world s largest operational helicopter the Mil Mi 26 Its unusual eight blade rotor enabled it to lift a maximum payload of some twenty tons The medium and long range passenger and cargo aircraft of Aeroflot were also part of the strategic air transport reserve ready to provide immediate airlift support to the armed forces Short range aircraft and helicopters were available for appropriate military support missions Post Soviet Aeroflot edit nbsp The winged hammer and sickle is the most recognisable symbol of Aeroflot After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 service expanded significantly 32 Up until that time Aeroflot had been the only establishment providing air services throughout the Soviet Union but with its breakup Aeroflot branches of these countries began their own services and the airline itself came under control of Russia the largest of the CIS republics and was renamed Aeroflot Russian International Airlines ARIA 33 34 In 1992 Aeroflot was divided into approximately 400 regional airlines informally known as Babyflots which included BAL Bashkirian Airlines KrasAir Moscow Airways and Tatarstan Airlines with Aeroflot keeping the international routes 33 35 In 1994 Aeroflot was registered as a joint stock company and the government sold off 49 of its stake to Aeroflot employees In the 1990s Aeroflot was primarily focused on international flights from Moscow However by the end of the decade Aeroflot started an expansion in the domestic market In 2000 the company name was changed to Aeroflot Russian Airlines to reflect the change in the company strategy 36 The Aeroflot fleet shrank dramatically in the post Soviet era dropping from 5 400 planes in 1991 to 115 in 1996 33 nbsp A new Airbus A321 holds for departure whilst an Ilyushin Il 96 lands at Aeroflot s Moscow Sheremetyevo hubSince the dissolution Aeroflot has been actively working towards promoting and redefining itself as a safe and reliable airline 37 In the early 2000s the airline hired British consultants for rebranding 38 From the start plans were afoot to replace the hammer and sickle logo a symbol of Soviet communism despite this the logo was not scrapped as it was the most recognisable symbol of the company for over 70 years 38 A new Aircraft livery and uniforms for flight attendants were designed and a promotional campaign launched in 2003 39 Its fleet has undergone a major reorganisation during which most of the Soviet aircraft were replaced by Western built jets concerns over fuel consumption rather than safety concerns were cited for such a move 40 Airbus A319s and A320s for short haul flights in Europe and Boeing 767s and Airbus A330s for long haul routes were gradually incorporated into the Aeroflot fleet Aeroflot began working with the US travel technology firm Sabre Corporation in 1997 and in 2004 signed an agreement to use Sabre s software as its new Reservation System 41 further extending the relationship with Sabre in 2010 42 In the spring of 2004 an expansion on the domestic market was undertaken aiming to gain 30 share by 2010 as of 2006 update it held approximately 9 The first task was to outperform Siberia Airlines now S7 Airlines a major rival and the leader in the domestic market On 29 July 2004 a new corporate slogan was adopted Sincerely Yours Aeroflot 43 In April 2006 Aeroflot became the tenth airline to join SkyTeam 44 and the first air carrier in the former Soviet Union to do so The company announced plans to increase cargo operations It registered the Aeroflot Cargo trademark in 2006 Aeroflot became the sole shareholder of Donavia a domestic airline then named Aeroflot Don 45 in December 2006 when it boosted its stake in the company from 51 to 100 soon afterwards Aeroflot Nord was created following the buyout of Arkhangelsk Airlines 46 Expansion and re organization edit nbsp Rossiya Airlines Boeing 777 300 in the new livery lands at Pulkovo Airport in 2016 In November 2011 Aeroflot received 75 minus one share of Rossiya along with the shares of four other carriers 47 In December 2009 Aeroflot Cargo merged into the parent as part of a bankruptcy reorganization of the subsidiary 48 In November 2011 Rostec a state agency merged five airlines it owned Vladivostok Avia Saravia Rossiya Airlines SAT Airlines and Orenair into Aeroflot acquiring an additional 3 5 of the company in a 2 5 billion deal 49 Saravia was then sold to private investors 50 In September 2013 Aurora originally called Taiga was created combining Vladivostok Air and SAT Airlines 51 52 53 54 In June 2013 at the World Airline Awards which took place at the 50th Le Bourget air show Aeroflot was awarded the international prize as the best air carrier in Eastern Europe 55 In October 2013 the company introduced an affiliated low cost carrier LCC Dobrolet 56 It started operations in June 2014 57 however it ceased on 4 August 2014 2014 08 04 due to EU sanctions over the airline launching flights to Crimea 58 59 In late August 2014 Aeroflot announced the launch of Pobeda a new LCC to replace Dobrolet using aircraft transferred from Orenair 60 It started operations from Vnukovo Airport in December 2014 61 62 63 In March 2014 as a response to the Revolution of Dignity the company announced rerouting of flights to avoid flying over Ukraine 64 65 Also in March 2014 Aeroflot s IATA airline designator SU was adopted by its subsidiary Rossiya 47 In September 2015 Aeroflot agreed to acquire 75 of Transaero Airlines for the symbolic price of one ruble 66 but abandoned the plan after failing to come to terms on a takeover 67 Aeroflot instead took over several of Transaero s aircraft by assuming its leases after the defunct airline s collapse This introduced the Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 to the Aeroflot fleet In addition the company suggested that it would cancel some of its jet orders as a result of the newly assumed aircraft 68 Subsidiaries Rossiya Airlines Donavia and Orenair combined operations in late March 2016 69 Orenair s AOC was cancelled by Russian authorities in late May 2016 2016 05 70 71 Donavia and Orenair were declared bankrupt in 2017 70 72 In June 2018 the company signed a codeshare agreement with Aerolineas Argentinas 73 In December 2020 the company sold its 51 stake in Aurora to Sakhalin Region Development Corporation for 1 74 75 2022 airspace bans and sanctions edit In February and March 2022 as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Aeroflot and other Russian airlines were banned from the airspace of many countries 76 77 78 79 80 Russian airlines were added to the list of air carriers banned in the European Union for safety reasons because planes were re registered in Russia and no longer had foreign airworthiness certificates 81 The U S Department of Commerce banned companies from servicing Boeing planes operated by Aeroflot Aviastar Azur Air Belavia Rossiya and Utair 82 Manchester United F C cancelled its sponsorship agreement that made Aeroflot its official carrier since July 2013 83 84 Sabre Corporation and others removed access by Aeroflot to their computer reservation systems and global distribution systems 85 In response to the international sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine Aeroflot migrated to a Russian based passenger service system 86 began sourcing aircraft parts via obscure trading companies free trade zones and middlemen in countries that have not imposed sanctions on Russia such as United Arab Emirates and China 87 88 89 and placed orders for Russian made jets such as the Yakovlev MC 21 to reduce its dependence on foreign made jets 90 91 18 In September 2023 Aeroflot paid 645 million to acquire 17 aircraft and five spare jet engines that were leased to Aeroflot and owned by AerCap and were stranded in Russia upon the Russian invasion of Ukraine 92 Corporate affairs editHeadquarters edit nbsp Aeroflot headquarters are in the light yellow building 10 Arbat Street Moscow The headquarters of Aeroflot are in Arbat District Central Administrative Okrug Moscow 93 In 2009 Aeroflot leased 7 000 square metres 75 000 sq ft of space from a class A office building on Arbat Street owned by Midland Development As of that year Aeroflot had plans to build a dedicated 35 000 square metre 380 000 sq ft headquarters in proximity to Sheremetyevo Airport 94 Management history edit Valery Okulov a son in law of Boris Yeltsin was CEO of the company until 2009 Vitaly Savelyev was CEO of the company from 2009 to 2020 95 96 In December 2018 the Russian government appointed Russia s Minister of Transport Evgeny Ditrich as chairman of the board 97 Ownership and subsidiaries edit The Federal Agency for State Property Management an agency of the Government of Russia owns 73 77 of the company with the rest of the shares being public float 12 The company owns airline subsidiaries Pobeda and Rossiya Airlines 3 Destinations editMain article List of Aeroflot destinations In September 2018 Aeroflot served 146 destinations in 52 countries 10 In 2022 the number of destinations was significantly reduced after many countries banned Russian aircraft as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine 14 It currently operates service to from Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus China Cuba Egypt India Indonesia Iran Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Maldives Seychelles Sri Lanka Thailand Turkey United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan 15 16 5 Alliances edit nbsp Aeroflot Airbus A320 200 in SkyTeam livery Between April 2006 and 27 April 2022 Aeroflot was a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance 44 having signed a Memorandum of Understanding MoU on 24 May 2004 98 On 27 April 2022 SkyTeam and Aeroflot agreed to temporarily suspend the airline s membership as part of corporate responses to the Russian invasion of Ukraine 99 Although Aeroflot did not meet the conventional standards of the alliance at the time SkyTeam saw potential in the airline s large hub networks and decided that it made up for the airline s deficiencies 100 Aeroflot s cargo branch Aeroflot Cargo which was later reintegrated into the parent company operated as part of SkyTeam Cargo 101 Codeshare agreements edit Aeroflot has no active codeshare agreements with any international airlines it only has active codeshare agreements the following airlines 102 Aurora Pobeda Rossiya AirlinesFleet edit nbsp Aeroflot Group fleet size as of 2020 See also Aeroflot fleet The Aeroflot fleet consists of narrow body and wide body aircraft from five aircraft families the Airbus A320 the Airbus A330 the Airbus A350 XWB the Boeing 737 and the Boeing 777 The fleet excluding subsidiaries includes 178 airplanes 119 Airbus planes and 59 Boeing planes including 7 that are blocked outside the Russian Federation 3 However as a result of international sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine the company has ordered over 300 Russian made jets and plans on making the Yakovlev MC 21 its flagship plane 18 Frequent flyer programme edit nbsp Aeroflot Bonus logo Aeroflot s frequent flyer program is called Aeroflot Bonus It has four levels with various perks 103 Accidents and incidents editFor a more comprehensive list see Aeroflot accidents and incidents Aeroflot has had a total of 8 231 passengers dying in Aeroflot crashes according to the Aircraft Crashes Record Office mostly during the Soviet era about five times more than any other airline 104 105 From 1946 to 1989 the carrier was involved in 721 incidents In 2013 AirlineRatings com reported that five of the ten aircraft models involved in the highest numbers of fatal accidents 106 were old Soviet models 104 From 1992 to 2020 the carrier was involved in 14 incidents since 1996 only one incident has resulted in fatalities 107 Criticism editIncidents with flight attendants edit In May 2012 Aeroflot fired 19 year old flight attendant Yekaterina Solovyova for mocking the crash of a Sukhoi Superjet at Mount Salak in a Twitter post where she wrote What a Superjet crashed Hahaha Piece of crap It s a pity it s not Aeroflot s there would be one less and maybe they would even sell the rest back to someone 108 Solovyova later said she had misworded her thoughts about the aircraft s design flaws I flew on the Superjet several times And there the doors did not close several times there were also problems with the water supply Flights were delayed because of this I just wanted to say that these planes should be taken out of service of our airline I didn t want to offend the relatives of the victims I regret my words 109 In January 2013 Aeroflot fired another flight attendant Tatyana Kozlenko for posting an image with a middle finger gesture directed to passengers in a cabin on her VKontakte account 110 In April 2018 Aeroflot reported it would fire one more flight attendant after a passenger complained that on a flight from Moscow to Kaliningrad the flight attendant had announced Kaliningrad in English as Konigsberg its former German name 111 Allegations of discrimination against overweight flight attendants edit In 2016 the company linked the pay of its flight attendants to their dress sizes All the flight attendants were photographed and measured and some were weighed Women above a Russian size 48 were barred from international flights 112 According to the flight attendants trade union the policy affected about 600 Aeroflot attendants The company successfully defended itself in court in April 2017 by saying that a survey of Aeroflot passengers showed that 92 want to see stewardesses who fit into the clothes sizes we are talking about here 113 and that every extra kilogram meant spending an extra 800 per year on fuel 114 The company denied all the accusations of discrimination 115 In September 2017 the appeal court decided that requirements banning employment by women who wore large sizes was unenforceable and ordered 5 000 in compensation plus back pay for Yevgenia Magurina a flight attendant who filed a discrimination suit however the court did not rule explicitly that the policy was discriminatory 116 117 Ban on employee smartphone use edit In November 2018 the company s executive director Vitaly Savelyev signed new rules according to which employees of the Moscow office of the airline were forbidden to bring and use smartphones at work allegedly to prevent them from taking videos 118 See also editList of airports in Russia Transport in Russia Transport in the Soviet UnionReferences edit nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Country Studies Federal Research Division Aeroflot otkryl mezhdunarodnyj hab v Krasnoyarske TASS 31 May 2021 a b c d e f Flightradar24 data Aeroflot routes a b c d e f Company Profile Our alliance and partnerships Aeroflot Aircraft Fleet Aeroflot a b c Aeroflot on ch aviation ch aviation Sovet direktorov Aeroflota utverdil Aleksandrovskogo na postu generalnogo direktora in Russian Interfaks 8 April 2022 a b c d e IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2021 PDF Aeroflot 2 March 2022 p 83 Retrieved 2 March 2022 PAO Aeroflot www rusprofile ru in Russian GORDON NICHOLAS 7 March 2022 Russia s flag carrier Aeroflot is canceling its international flights to stop foreign governments seizing its planes Fortune a b Hofmann Kurt 10 September 2018 Vietnam Airlines Aeroflot to expand cooperation Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 17 September 2018 Blachly Linda 1 September 2015 Russia s Aeroflot to acquire Transaero Airlines Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 2 September 2015 a b Shareholder Capital Structure Aeroflot Fly Aeroflot How the Soviet airline became the largest in the world PICTURES Russia Beyond 24 November 2018 a b Aeroflot halting all foreign flights minus Belarus from March 8 Al Jazeera English 5 March 2022 a b Table of Routes Aeroflot a b Aeroflot Flights and Destinations FlightConnections 21 March 2024 About Aeroflot Aeroflot a b c Rains Taylor 18 September 2022 Aeroflot says it ordered more than 300 fully Russified airliners Take a look at the Irkut MC 21 jet the airline says will be its new flagship Business Insider a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al MacDonald Hugh 1975 Aeroflot Soviet air transport since 1923 Putnam ISBN 978 0 370 00117 3 a b Aeroflot celebrates its 60th anniversary PDF Flight International Moscow 443 19 February 1983 Archived from the original on 5 November 2012 Retrieved 7 June 2012 Russia s airline system Flight 119 120 121 23 July 1954 Malyutina Natalya Krylya Sovetov istoriya brenda Aeroflot Informacionno analiticheskij portal Sostav ru Retrieved 1 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Aeroflot Becomes 10th Airline to Join SkyTeam The Moscow Times 17 April 2006 Archived from the original on 20 June 2014 Kaminski Morrow David 22 September 2009 Russia s Aeroflot Don to rebrand as Donavia FlightGlobal Air Transport Intelligence news Archived from the original on 23 January 2013 Endres Gunter 19 February 2007 Arranged marriages Russia focus FlightGlobal Archived from the original on 23 May 2013 a b Montag Girmes Polina 23 July 2015 Russia s Rossiya Airlines names new chairman Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 26 July 2015 Aeroflot Cargo was merged back into Aeroflot on December 1 2009 4 February 2010 Borodina Polina 22 November 2011 Russia s Rostechnology finalizes transfer of five regional carriers to Aeroflot Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 16 June 2012 Borodina Polina 2 January 2012 Aeroflot sells regional subsidiary Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 11 November 2012 Borodina Polina 13 June 2013 Aeroflot to launch Far East subsidiary in 3Q Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 30 October 2013 Borodina Polina 25 October 2013 Aeroflot provides a 13 5 million loan for Far East subsidiary Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 30 October 2013 Borodina Polina 10 September 2013 Russia s Aeroflot creates Far East subsidiary Taiga Airline Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 21 September 2013 Borodina Polina 6 November 2013 Aeroflot subsidiary Aurora Airline set to launch operations Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 7 November 2013 Aeroflot recognized as best air carrier in Eastern Europe Itar Tass 18 June 2013 Archived from the original on 20 June 2014 Aeroflot Introduces New Low Cost Airline Dobrolet Press release Aeroflot 10 October 2013 Archived from the original on 28 October 2013 Borodina Polina 10 June 2014 Aeroflot subsidiary Dobrolet launches flights Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 10 June 2014 Borodina Polina 4 August 2014 Russia s Dobrolet ceases operations due to EU sanctions Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 27 August 2014 Kaminski Morrow David 3 August 2014 Dobrolet halts flights as EU sanctions block jet lease Flightglobal London Archived from the original on 27 August 2014 Borodina Polina 26 August 2014 Aeroflot to launch new LCC subsidiary Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 27 August 2014 Aeroflot acts to relaunch its LCC project with Pobeda after Group profits fell again in 3Q2014 CAPA Centre for Aviation 3 December 2014 Archived from the original on 3 December 2014 Borodina Polina 1 December 2014 Aeroflot subsidiary Pobeda launches flights Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 2 December 2014 Borodina Polina 16 October 2014 New Aeroflot budget carrier discloses network Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 18 October 2014 Otkaz letat nad Ukrainoj mog stat prichinoj padeniya akcij Aeroflota na 9 8 Novaya Gazeta 13 March 2014 Akcii Aeroflota upali na 9 8 do 52 8 rublya za bumagu po itogam torgov na Moskovskoj birzhe ITAR TASS 13 March 2014 Medetsky Anatoly 1 September 2015 Aeroflot to Buy Transaero in Tie Up of Russia s Biggest Airlines Bloomberg News Soldatkin Vladimir 1 October 2015 Russia s Aeroflot says drops plans to acquire Transaero Reuters Jasper Christopher Pronina Lyubov 14 April 2016 Aeroflot s Transaero Jet Rush to Crimp Airbus Boeing Orders Bloomberg News Rossiya Airlines Aeroflot Group s Newly Merged Regional Carrier Begins Flights Press release Aeroflot 28 March 2016 a b Montag Girmes Polina 17 January 2017 Aeroflot files for bankruptcy of Orenair Donavia subsidiaries Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 19 January 2017 Montag Girmes Polina 6 June 2016 Russian authorities cancel Orenair s AOC Air Transport World Archived from the original on 18 June 2016 Montag Girmes Polina Russian court declares Aeroflot subsidiary Donavia bankrupt Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 16 August 2017 Montag Girmes Polina 4 June 2018 Aeroflot to codeshare with Aerolineas Argentinas Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 17 June 2018 Kaminski Morrow David 17 December 2020 Aeroflot Group to divest eastern carrier Aurora FlightGlobal Aeroflot Sells Subsidiary To Boost Russian Far East Air Transport Aviation Week amp Space Technology 23 December 2020 Ukraine invasion More countries issue airspace ban on Russian planes BBC News 26 February 2022 The full list of new UK sanctions on Russia over Ukraine from oligarchs to sovereign debt i 24 February 2022 Sider Alison 27 February 2022 Russian Planes Barred From Airspace Over Europe Canada The Wall Street Journal ISSN 0099 9660 Bursztynsky Jessica 27 February 2022 Canada Nordic countries join in closing their airspace to Russian planes CNBC Koenig David Miller Zeke Rugaber Christopher 1 March 2022 President Biden Bans Russian Planes From U S Airspace Time Aviation safety 20 Russian airlines added to EU Air Safety List Press release European Commission 11 April 2022 US Broadens Restrictions on Belarus National Airline After Violations Voice of America 16 June 2022 Ukraine crisis Man Utd terminate Aeroflot deal BBC News 25 February 2022 Dawson Rob 25 February 2022 Man United cut sponsorship with Russian airline Aeroflot amid Ukraine invasion ESPN Sabre terminates distribution agreement with Aeroflot Press release Sabre Corporation 3 March 2022 Russian Airlines Migrate To Local Passenger Service Systems Aviation Week amp Space Technology 3 November 2022 Sanctions Russia s commercial airlines face a slow death Deutsche Welle 18 November 2022 Swanson Ana Chokshi Niraj 15 May 2023 U S Made Technology Is Flowing to Sanctioned Russian Airlines The New York Times Gauthier Villars David Stolyarov Gleb 23 August 2023 How Russia keeps its fleet of Western jets in the air Reuters KARNOZOV VLADIMIR 7 September 2022 Aeroflot Signs for 339 Russian made Jets Aviation International News Perry Dominic 15 September 2022 Why order for Russian jets will turn Aeroflot into a replica of its former self FlightGlobal Humphries Conor 6 September 2023 Lessor AerCap agrees settlement over Aeroflot jets stranded in Russia Reuters Procurement Notice Aeroflot Retrieved 25 April 2014 119002 Moscow Arbat Street 10 Aeroflot renting luxury office in Arbat Street Archive PMR Ltd 19 July 2009 Retrieved 25 April 2014 Borodina Polina 18 September 2013 Saveliev to lead Aeroflot for next five years Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 21 September 2013 Montag Girmes Polina 29 August 2018 Savelyev re elected as Aeroflot CEO Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 13 September 2018 Montag Girmes Polina 12 December 2018 Aeroflot Group makes management changes Aviation Week amp Space Technology Archived from the original on 30 December 2018 Flottau Jens 25 May 2004 Aeroflot SkyTeam Sign MOU For Admission Aviation Week amp Space Technology Aeroflot plans to join SkyTeam alliance American City Business Journals 24 May 2004 Archived from the original on 11 August 2014 Aeroflot eyes Sky Team membership BBC News 29 January 2004 Archived from the original on 2 April 2015 Aeroflot joins SkyTeam Cargo Aeroflot Codeshare flights Aeroflot About Aeroflot Bonus Aeroflot a b Smith Oliver 9 February 2016 Aeroflot from world s deadliest airline to one of the safest in the sky The Daily Telegraph History of Aeroflot Russian International Airlines FundingUniverse Smith Oliver 4 February 2016 Least safe aircraft models revealed The Daily Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 ASN Aviation Safety Database aviation safety net Flight Attendant Fired for Joking About Crash Hired by Vkontakte The Moscow Times 18 June 2012 Retrieved 20 April 2024 Eks styuardessa Aeroflota Ekaterina Soloveva Ya ne hotela sdelat bolno rodstvennikam pogibshih Komsomolskaya Pravda in Russian 16 May 2012 Retrieved 21 April 2024 Styuardessu uvolili za skandalnuyu fotografiyu v socseti Komsomolskaya Pravda in Russian 28 January 2013 Retrieved 20 April 2024 Aeroflot uvolil styuardessu nazvavshuyu Kaliningrad Kyonigsbergom in Russian NewKaliningrad ru 28 April 2018 Retrieved 21 April 2024 Too fat to fly Russian women fight job discrimination BBC News 14 September 2017 Walker Shaun 25 April 2017 Passengers don t want overweight flight crew say Aeroflot officials after lawsuits The Guardian Chapman Ben 21 April 2017 Aeroflot flight attendants lose discrimination case after being branded old fat and ugly The Independent Archived from the original on 21 April 2017 Aeroflot comments on accusations of discrimination against staff Aeroflot 22 February 2017 Russian Flight Attendants Win Aeroflot Discrimination Case The Moscow Times 6 September 2017 Turner Rob 7 September 2017 Russian Aeroflot flight attendants win uniform discrimination case Deutsche Welle Agence France Presse Calder Simon 25 November 2018 Airline cancels passenger s elite membership over insulting tweet The Independent Archived from the original on 26 November 2018 Bibliography editBuckley Christopher 2022 Soviet Era Airliners The Final Three Decades Historic Commercial Aircraft Series Vol 1 Stamford Lincs UK Key Publishing ISBN 9781913870621 Jones Mark 2018 The Aeroflot Story From Russia With Luck Chronik Europa ISBN 978 1981094714 Davies R E G 1992 Aeroflot An Airline and Its Aircraft 1st ed Rockville Maryland Paladwr Press ISBN 978 0 9626483 1 1 MacDonald Hugh 1975 Aeroflot Soviet air transport since 1923 Putnam ISBN 978 0 370 00117 3 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aeroflot Official website in Russian and English Portals nbsp Russia nbsp Soviet Union nbsp Companies nbsp Aviation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Aeroflot amp oldid 1225761791, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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