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In January 1971 the Aeroflot Central Administration of International Air Traffic was established within the framework of [[IATA]], and became the industry's 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 America|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]]. Since the 1970s some transatlantic flights were flown using [[Shannon Airport]] in [[Ireland]] as an intermediate stop, as it was the westernmost non-[[NATO]] airport in Europe.
In January 1971 the Aeroflot Central Administration of International Air Traffic was established within the framework of [[IATA]], and became the industry's 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 America|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]]. Since the 1970s some transatlantic flights were flown using [[Shannon Airport]] in [[Ireland]] as an intermediate stop, as it was the westernmost non-[[NATO]] airport in Europe.

⚫
Aeroflot also performed myriad other functions, including [[air ambulance|aeromedical]], crop-dusting, heavy lifting for the Soviet Space Agency (see [[Soviet space program|Soviet Space Programme]]), offshore oil platform support, exploration 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 of the Soviet Union|communist party]] officials. Aeroflot joined [[IATA]] in 1989.


Aeroflot service to and from the United States was interrupted from September 15, 1983 until August 2, 1990 following an executive order by [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Ronald Reagan]] revoking Aeroflot's license to operate flights into and out of the United States. (See [[Korean Air Flight 007]] for more information). At the start of the 1990s Aeroflot reorganised again giving more autonomy to territorial divisions.
Aeroflot service to and from the United States was interrupted from September 15, 1983 until August 2, 1990 following an executive order by [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Ronald Reagan]] revoking Aeroflot's license to operate flights into and out of the United States. (See [[Korean Air Flight 007]] for more information). At the start of the 1990s Aeroflot reorganised again giving more autonomy to territorial divisions.
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In 1994 Aeroflot was registered as a [[joint stock company]] and the government sold off 49% of its stake to Aeroflot employees. During 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.{{citation needed|date=May 2007}}
In 1994 Aeroflot was registered as a [[joint stock company]] and the government sold off 49% of its stake to Aeroflot employees. During 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.{{citation needed|date=May 2007}}

===Other functions of Aeroflot===
⚫
Aeroflot also performed myriad other functions, including [[air ambulance|aeromedical]], crop-dusting, heavy lifting for the Soviet Space Agency (see [[Soviet space program|Soviet Space Programme]]), offshore oil platform support, exploration 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 of the Soviet Union|communist party]] officials. Aeroflot joined [[IATA]] in 1989.

Aeroflot also worked as a [[front organization]] of Soviet and Russian intelligence agencies including the [[KGB]], [[Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)|SVR]] and [[GRU]]<ref name="Kuzminov"> Alexander Kouzminov ''Biological Espionage: Special Operations of the Soviet and Russian Foreign Intelligence Services in the West'', Greenhill Books, 2006, ISBN 1-853-67646-2</ref>. The company conducted forcible "evacuations" of Soviet citizens from foreign countries back to the USSR. People whose loyalty was questioned were drugged and delivered unconsciousness by Aeroflot planes, assisted by the company [[KGB]] personnel, according to former [[GRU]] officer [[Victor Suvorov]] <ref>[[Viktor Suvorov]] ''[[Aquarium (Suvorov)|Aquarium]]'' ({{lang|ru|Аквариум}}), 1985, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, ISBN 0-241-11545-0 </ref>. In 1980s and 1990s, specimens of deadly bacteria and viruses stolen from Western laboratories were delivered by Aeroflot to support [[Soviet program of biological weapons|Russian program of biological weapons]]. This delivery channel encoded VOLNA ("wave") meant "delivering the material via an international flight of the Aeroflot airline in the pilots' cabin, where one of the pilots was a KGB officer" <ref name="Kuzminov"/>. At least two SVR agents died, presumably from the transported pathogens <ref name="Kuzminov"/>.

When businessman [[Nikolai Glushkov]] was appointed as a top manager of Aeroflot in [[1996]], he found that the airline company worked as a "cash cow to support international spying operations"<ref name="dissident">[[Alexander Goldfarb (microbiologist)|Alex Goldfarb]], with Marina Litvinenko ''[[Death of a Dissident]]: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB'', The Free Press, 2007, ISBN 1-416-55165-4 </ref>: 3,000 people out of the total workforce of 14,000 in Aeroflot were [[FSB (Russia)|FSB]], [[SVR]], or [[GRU]] officers. All proceeds from ticket sales were distributed to 352 foreign bank accounts that could not be controlled by the Aeroflot administration. Glushkov closed all these accounts and channeled the money to an accounting center called Andava in [[Switzerland]] <ref name="dissident"/> . He also sent a bill and wrote a letter to [[SVR]] director [[Yevgeni Primakov]] and FSB director [[Mikhail Barsukov]] asking them to pay salaries of their intelligence officers in Aeroflot in 1996. <ref name="dissident"/> Glushkov has been imprisoned since [[2000]] on charges of illegally channeling money through Andava. Since [[2004]] the company is controlled by [[Viktor Ivanov]], a high-ranking [[FSB (Russia)|FSB]] official who is a close associate of [[Vladimir Putin]].


=== Recent developments ===
=== Recent developments ===

Revision as of 23:34, 9 September 2009

Aeroflot—Russian Airlines
Аэрофлот—Российские авиалинии
File:Aeroflot logo.png
IATA ICAO Callsign
SU[1] AFL[1] AEROFLOT[1]
Founded9 February 1923[2]
Commenced operations15 July 1923
HubsSheremetyevo International Airport[1]
Frequent-flyer programAeroflot Bonus
AllianceSkyTeam
Subsidiaries
Fleet size99 (+112 orders, 15 options)[3]
Destinations95[3]
HeadquartersMoscow, Russia
Key people
Websitehttp://www.aeroflot.ru

OJSC "Aeroflot—Russian Airlines" (Russian: ОАО «Аэрофлот—Российские авиалинии») (MCX: AFLT MCX: AFLT), commonly known as Aeroflot (Russian: Аэрофлот), is the largest airline in Russia, based on passengers carried per year. Aeroflot is one of the oldest airlines in the world, tracing its history back to 1923. Based at Sheremetyevo International Airport near Moscow, the airline operates domestic and international passenger services to 95 cities in 48 countries.

During the Soviet era, Aeroflot was the Soviet national airline and the largest airline in the world.[4] Since the dissolution of the USSR, Aeroflot has been transformed from a state-run enterprise into a semi-privatised airline which ranks amongst the most profitable in the world.[5] Aeroflot is still considered the de facto national airline of Russia.[6]

Aeroflot has embarked on a fleet modernisation program, extensive route restructuring, and an image overhaul, in order to bring the airline up to world standards. The airline joined SkyTeam in April 2006.[5]

History

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

In 1921, shortly after the end of civil war in European Russia, the new government established the Chief Administration of the Civil Air Fleet to oversee new air transport projects. One of its first acts was to help found Deutsch-Russische Luftverkehrs A.G. (Deruluft), a German-Russian joint venture to provide air transport from Russia to the West. Domestic air service began around the same time, when Dobrolyot (Russian: Добролёт) was established on 9 February 1923. It started operations on 15 July 1923 between Moscow and Nizhni Novgorod.

On 25 February 1932 all civil aviation activities were consolidated under the administration of the Head Directorate of Civil Air Fleet (Russian: Главное управление Гражданского воздушного флота (ГУ ГВФ), and the official abbreviated operating name of the fleet was determined to be Aeroflot.[7] International flights started in 1937; before that date they had been carried out by Deruluft.

File:USSR air routes Pulkovo.jpg
A map in the main terminal of the Leningrad airport shows the early main routes of Aeroflot.

By the end of the 1930s Aeroflot had become the world's largest airline, employing more than 4,000 pilots and 60,000 other service personnel and operating around 3,000 aircraft, of which 75% were considered obsolete by its own standards.[8] Durin the war the primary types of operated aircraft became PS-84 (ПС-84) from September 1942 renamed Li-2 (Ли-2), the ubiquitous DC-3 Dakota manufactured under license in USSR since before the war. For mail delivery the U-2 (У-2), renamed from 1944 Po-2 (По-2) became the single most used type, serving in other roles such as medical evacuation as S-1 (C-1) for sanitarny (sanitary). Serving alongside military aviation, the Civil Air Fleet was used to ferry 2.3 million passengers, including service personnel and partisans, and deliver 230 thousand tonnes of cargo, including ammunition.[9] The other role of the CAF was that of training, and it produced 23,000 aviation specialists, including 20,907 pilots for the Li-2 and Po-2 aircraft. It was a Li-2 of the 2nd Sevastopol aviation regiment flown by its commander, Colonel A.I. Semenkov that delivered the Act of German capitulation to Moscow on the 9 May 1945.

During the Soviet era Aeroflot was synonymous with Russian civil aviation.[citation needed] It became the first airline in the world to operate sustained regular jet services on 15 September 1956 with the Tupolev Tu-104.[10]

Ilyushin Il-96 in the previous Aeroflot livery

In January 1971 the Aeroflot Central Administration of International Air Traffic was established within the framework of IATA, and became the industry's 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. Since the 1970s some transatlantic flights were flown using Shannon Airport in Ireland as an intermediate stop, as it was the westernmost non-NATO airport in Europe.

Aeroflot service to and from the United States was interrupted from September 15, 1983 until August 2, 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. (See Korean Air Flight 007 for more information). At the start of the 1990s Aeroflot reorganised again giving more autonomy to territorial divisions.

Aeroflot Airbus A310 at Sheremetyevo airport in 1994

In 1992 it was divided into more than 300 regional airlines. International routes were operated separately as Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines (ARIA).[10] Some airline companies which were created from the old Aeroflot are now flag carriers of the newly independent countries - for example, Uzbekistan Airlines, and Lithuanian Airlines. Smaller regional airlines which emerged out of the old Aeroflot - sometimes just one-plane operations - were sometimes referred to as Babyflots.

In 1994 Aeroflot was registered as a joint stock company and the government sold off 49% of its stake to Aeroflot employees. During 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.[citation needed]

Other functions of Aeroflot

Aeroflot also performed myriad other functions, including aeromedical, crop-dusting, heavy lifting for the Soviet Space Agency (see Soviet Space Programme), offshore oil platform support, exploration 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. Aeroflot joined IATA in 1989.

Aeroflot also worked as a front organization of Soviet and Russian intelligence agencies including the KGB, SVR and GRU[11]. The company conducted forcible "evacuations" of Soviet citizens from foreign countries back to the USSR. People whose loyalty was questioned were drugged and delivered unconsciousness by Aeroflot planes, assisted by the company KGB personnel, according to former GRU officer Victor Suvorov [12]. In 1980s and 1990s, specimens of deadly bacteria and viruses stolen from Western laboratories were delivered by Aeroflot to support Russian program of biological weapons. This delivery channel encoded VOLNA ("wave") meant "delivering the material via an international flight of the Aeroflot airline in the pilots' cabin, where one of the pilots was a KGB officer" [11]. At least two SVR agents died, presumably from the transported pathogens [11].

When businessman Nikolai Glushkov was appointed as a top manager of Aeroflot in 1996, he found that the airline company worked as a "cash cow to support international spying operations"[13]: 3,000 people out of the total workforce of 14,000 in Aeroflot were FSB, SVR, or GRU officers. All proceeds from ticket sales were distributed to 352 foreign bank accounts that could not be controlled by the Aeroflot administration. Glushkov closed all these accounts and channeled the money to an accounting center called Andava in Switzerland [13] . He also sent a bill and wrote a letter to SVR director Yevgeni Primakov and FSB director Mikhail Barsukov asking them to pay salaries of their intelligence officers in Aeroflot in 1996. [13] Glushkov has been imprisoned since 2000 on charges of illegally channeling money through Andava. Since 2004 the company is controlled by Viktor Ivanov, a high-ranking FSB official who is a close associate of Vladimir Putin.

Recent developments

Tupolev Tu-154M in the new Aeroflot livery. Sheremetyevo airport

Aeroflot has been working towards redefining itself as a safe and reliable airline, hiring British consultants for rebranding at the beginning of the 2000s.[14] A new livery and uniforms for flight attendants were designed and a promotional campaign launched in 2003.

Aeroflot's famous "Winged Hammer and Sickle" logo
File:Aeroflot Russian International Airlines logo.svg
Aeroflot Russian International Airlines logo
File:Aeroflot old logo.svg
Old logo
Flag

Plans were afoot to replace the old Soviet-era hammer and sickle logo, which some people in the West treat as a reminder of Soviet communism. However, as it was for over 70 years the most recognisable symbol of the company, the logo was, in the end, retained.[14]

Aeroflot has also upgraded its fleet of western-built aircraft. It has a total of 24 A320/A319 jet planes for short-haul flights in Europe and 11 Boeing 767 planes for long-haul routes. The total number of planes is 93. It carried 5.9 million passengers in 2003.

In the spring of 2004 the airline started an aggressive expansion on the domestic market aiming to gain 30% share by 2010 (as of 2006 it held approximately 9%). The first task was to outperform one of its major rivals S7 Airlines, the leader in the Russian domestic market. On July 29, 2004 the company adopted a new corporate slogan: "Sincerely Yours. Aeroflot".

On April 14, 2006 Aeroflot became the first air carrier in the former Soviet Union to join a global alliance, SkyTeam. The airline will also get its own terminal at Sheremetyevo International Airport known as Sheremetyevo terminal 3 which will be finished in 2009.

The company has announced its plan to increase cargo operations. It registered the "Aeroflot-Cargo" trademark in 2004.[citation needed]

The airline is owned (as of March 2007) by the Russian Government via Rosimushchestvo (51.17%), National Reserve Corporation (27%) and employees and others (19%) and has 14,900 employees.[10]

In 2006 Aeroflot carried 7,290,000 passengers and 145,300 tons of mail and cargo[15] to 89 destinations in 47 countries.[16]

Aeroflot has seen a significant financial improvement, both seen in its earnings and number of passengers carried. The net profit of the company reached $309.4 million (RUB 7.98 billion) in 2006, a 32.3% increase from 2005 earnings of only $234 million (RUB6.03 billion). The revenue for the same 2005-2006 period rose by 13.5% to reach $2.77 billion with an 8.7% gain in passenger numbers.[17]

Cargo

Main article: Aeroflot-Cargo

According to British newspaper The Guardian, Aeroflot board announced on May 7 2009 that the cargo division of the company was no longer profitable and that the company was considering its liquidation through bankruptcy. The board announced a 30% fall in freight. [18]

Destinations

As of August 2009 [19][20] Aeroflot - Russian Airlines operates its own scheduled passenger flights from Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow to 46 countries (including 5 countries in CIS), serving 95 destinations: 27 in Russia and 6 in CIS, 2 in Africa, 9 in Asia, 42 in Europe, 5 in Middle East, 3 in North America and 1 Caribbean.

Main article: Aeroflot — Russian Airlines destinations

Fleet

Passenger

Tupolev Tu-154M
Ilyushin Il-86 in old livery

For most of its history, Aeroflot's fleet consisted entirely of planes built by Russian manufacturers Antonov, Ilyushin, and Tupolev. Following the Soviet Union's dissolution and subsequent partition of the airline, Aeroflot has begun to replace its old Soviet aircraft with modern Western ones. The Aeroflot fleet includes the following aircraft at September 2009: [21][22]

Aeroflot Fleet
Aircraft In
Service 		Orders Options Passengers
(Business/Economy) 		Notes
Airbus A319-100 15 0 0 116 (20/96)
Airbus A320-200 31 16 0 140 (20/120) To replace Tupolev Tu-154M
Airbus A321-200 10 14 0 170 (28/142) To replace Tupolev Tu-154M
Airbus A330-200 4 1 0 241 (34/207)
Airbus A330-300 0 5 0 TBA Entry into service: 2009-2010
Airbus A350-800 0 18 0 TBA Entry into service: 2014
Airbus A350-900 0 4 0 TBA Entry into service: 2014
Boeing 767-300ER 11 0 0 218 (30/188)
Boeing 787-8 0 22 0 TBA Entry into service: 2014
Ilyushin Il-96-300 6 0 0 256 (22/234) Undergo Cabin Refit 2009 - In-Seat PTV - New Interior Panels
Sukhoi Superjet 100-95 0 30 15 TBA Launch customer. Entry into service: December 2009
Tupolev Tu-154M 23 0 0 131 (14/117) To be retired
Replacement aircraft: Airbus A320 Family
Total 99 112 15

As of June 3, 2008, the average age of the Aeroflot fleet was 6.9 years.[23]

Aeroflot's Western-made fleet is young, whereas the Tupolev 154 fleet are due to retire between 2008 and 2010, because of high operating cost and an average age of 17 years (Tupolev 154). The Tupolev 134s had an average age of 30 years, but were phased out in early 2008. Aeroflot used to operate but later returned their 737s, A310s, and 777s.

Although there are a large amount of other Soviet aircraft in Aeroflot colors, they operate for other companies. As of 2007 Aeroflot operates Il-86 retired planes during summer rushes (e.g. night flight to Yerevan).

Retired

During the Soviet era, almost all Aeroflot's airliners were built by Soviet manufacturers. Virtually all civilian aircraft (and also some military) in the Soviet Union were considered Aeroflot. This meant that Aeroflot was the airline with most planes, since everything from small planes used for cropdusting fields to the Ilyushin 62 with more than 200 seats were Aeroflot.

During the 1940s and the early 1950s, the main aircraft was a licensed version of the Douglas DC-3. Soviet-made, modified versions of this airliner were named the PS-84 and the Lisunov Li-2. The first to be produced in the Soviet Union was completed in 1939.

Later, the Li-2 were replaced by the Ilyushin Il-12, which entered service in 1947, and the Ilyushin Il-14, which entered service in 1954. Aeroflot also operated large numbers of the Antonov An-2 STOL biplane (first flying in 1947), in passenger and cargo roles. The An-2 remained in service until the 1980s.

Airbus A321-200

On September 15, 1956 Aeroflot began to operate Tupolev Tu-104s, the USSR's first jet airliner in regular service. The first passenger-carrying flight was from Moscow to Irkutsk, Russia. The first international route was Moscow–Prague, Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia).

The Tupolev Tu-114, originally used to transport Soviet leaders, came into service in 1961 on the Moscow (Vnukovo International Airport) - Khabarovsk, Russia route. It also served international routes such as Moscow–Tokyo, Japan and Moscow–Havana, Cuba, the airline's longest non-stop route at that time.

In 1962 Aeroflot began operating the Tupolev Tu-124, the smaller version of the Tu-104, on regional routes. These were later replaced by the Tupolev Tu-134, which entered service in 1967. Upgraded versions of the Tu-134 still make up much of the Russian regional fleet today.

The first Ilyushin Il-62 long-range four-engined airliner entered service with Aeroflot in 1967, with an inaugural flight from Moscow to Montreal on September 15.

In 1972 the first Tupolev Tu-154 began regular flights. This jet is the most popular Russian airliner, with more than 1,000 made. The latest modification, Tu-154M, is still in service. These aircraft serve most of the Russian domestic flights.

On November 1, 1977 Aeroflot started to use the Tupolev Tu-144, nicknamed the Concordski, the world's first civil supersonic aircraft, on its regular route from Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) to Alma-Ata (now Almaty, Kazakhstan). The Tu-144 was suspended from passenger service in 1978, having made 55 regular flights.

In 1980 the Ilyushin Il-86, the first Russian-made wide-body aeroplane, joined the fleet, reaching a total of 11. These were phased out by the end of 2006.

The first Western-made aircraft, the Airbus A310, was acquired in 1992. The company also became a Boeing customer, acquiring new Boeing 767 jets in 1994. Since then Aeroflot has also operated Boeing 737s, Airbus A320s, and the cargo version of the Douglas DC-10s.

From 1998 to 2005, Aeroflot leased two Boeing 777s, using the type on routes to the USA.

6 January 2008, Aeroflot removed the last eight Tupolev 134 after 40 years. The last flight was Kaliningrad-Moscow.

Fleet in 1993
Aeroflot Fleet
Model Variant Count
YAK-42 42 61
YAK-42 42D 39
TU-134 134 27
TU-134 134A 265
TU-134 134A1 6
TU-134 134A3 110
TU-134 134B3 3
TU-154 154 31
TU-154 154A 123
TU-154 154B 204
TU-154 154M 118
TU-154 154S 7
TU-154 155 1
IL-62 62 51
IL-62 62M 118
IL-86 86 64
IL-96 300 1
Airbus 310 324 5
  • Total: 1257 aircraft

Fleet expansion

Ilyushin Il-96-300
Boeing 767-300ER at Toronto Pearson International Airport
Airbus A320-200

In 1993 Aeroflot began operating the Ilyushin Il-96-300 aircraft on the Moscow - New York route. The company now flies 6 aircraft of the type - about one half of all Il-96s in commercial service worldwide - and promised to buy 6 more if the Russian State allowed it not to pay import duty on Western-built aircraft. Industry experts claim the company is trying to terminate the deal with Ilyushin as operating the Il-96 is not cost-effective.[citation needed]

In 2006 it leased 3 used Boeing 767-300ER from ILFC for 5 years. The first two aircraft were delivered in November 2006 and January 2007, the third one was delivered in March 2007. The company had previously leased 2 Boeing 767-300ER from ILFC.

As of 2007, Aeroflot is in the midst of an overhaul of its fleet structure. The ageing Tupolev 134s used on the short- and mid-haul routes are being phased out - the former to be replaced by the Sukhoi Superjet 100 by November, 2008.

For long-haul routes the company has ordered the Airbus A330, the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787.

In May 2007, Finnair has announced the sale of its last two self-owned MD-11s to Aeroflot which are thus to become part of the Russian airline cargo fleet in 2008 and 2009.[24]

Matters came to a head in September 2006 as Aeroflot's Board of Directors convened to vote on the Boeing contract. Unfortunately for Boeing, this coincided with the USA imposing sanctions on various Russian companies (including a major aircraft maker, Sukhoi) for allegedly supplying Iran in violation of the US's Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000 and with the Russian state-owned Vneshtorgbank buying 5% of the stock in EADS, the corporation behind Airbus. The State's representatives on the board abstained from the vote and another round of lobbying ensued, with Russian news sources reporting Aeroflot's efforts to placate the State by offering to order both 22 Boeing 787s and 22 Airbus 350s, effectively doubling its long-range fleet.[citation needed] Banker Alexander Lebedev, the man behind National Reserve Corporation, reached a deal with Boeing to prolong the deadline, using his corporation's money.[25]

  • On March 22, 2007, Aeroflot signed an agreement with Airbus for the delivery of 22 Airbus 350-800/900 XWB aircraft starting in 2015[26]
  • Ten Airbus A330: five A330-200 and five A330-300 aircraft have also been ordered to arrive on operating leases from the end of 2008 to provide interim capacity.[10]
Wikinews has related news:

Aeroflot and Boeing signed a deal for the 22 Dreamliners on the sidelines of Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, with deliveries starting in 2014. Aeroflot's CEO Okulov confirmed that the existing Airbus order "would not be affected".[27]

Aeroflot Bonus

Aeroflot Bonus is Aeroflot's frequent flyer program. It supports three levels:

  • Regular
  • Silver, attained if member has flown 25000 miles or 25 segments during calendar year (SkyTeam Elite)
  • Gold, attained if member has flown 50000 miles or 50 segments during calendar year (SkyTeam Elite Plus)

Codeshare agreements

As of June 2009, Aeroflot has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[28]

Incidents and accidents

Wikinews has related news:

There are records of approximately 127 accidents involving Aeroflot aircraft and 6,875 fatalities (plus 20 people killed on the ground), making an average of 54.13 fatalities per accident since 1953. Until 1991, all civil aviation and aircraft in the Soviet Union, from the An-2 to the Il-86, (as well as some military aircraft), operated with Aeroflot's name on it.[29] This list includes accidents and incidents from Aeroflot-branded aircraft and excludes most accidents and incidents from subsidiaries such as Aeroflot-Nord.

  • In 1984, Aeroflot Flight 3352 with 179 onboard lands during poor visibility and slams into 3 maintenance vehicles, exploding into flames and killing 178, including 4 from the maintenance vehicles.
  • On 14 September 2008, Boeing 737-500, Aeroflot Flight 821 crashed. The flight was operated by Aeroflot-Nord in a service agreement with Aeroflot. The air traffic controller noted that the plane was climbing and descending erratically. He instructed the plane to abort the approach and to line back up with the runway. The plane confirmed that everything was fine but continued its approach. ATC again instructed it to abort the approach and to contact another controller. The plane again did not follow its instructions and the first controller checked back in with the flight and told it to go around. The plane crashed into railroad tracks in the city of Perm in the Ural region of Russia. There were no survivors [31].

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Federal State Unitary Enterprise "State Air Traffic Management Corporation", Airline Reference, Vol. 1, Russian Federation, 20 February 2007, p. 125
  2. ^ [1] Aeroflot official website
  3. ^ a b [2]Aeroflot website
  4. ^ Smith, Patrick (2004-03-09). "Ask the pilot". Salon.com. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  5. ^ a b "Russia's Aeroflot Ranked Close to World Best Airlines". Kommersant. 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
  6. ^ "Thousands of Firms in Russia to Be Re-Named". Kommersant. 2008-01-10. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  7. ^ History of Aeroflot (in Russian)
  8. ^ p.6, Kotkin, V.F., Civil Air Fleet in the years of initial five-year plans. (Гражданский воздушный флот в годы первых пятилеток.) Civil Aviation of USSR in the years of the Great Patriotic War (Гражданская авиация СССР в годы Великой Отечественной войны), Special Report, Airports - Progressive technologies No.1, 2003, Group of companies Progresstech
  9. ^ p.7, Kotkin, V.F., Civil Air Fleet in the years of initial five-year plans. (Гражданский воздушный флот в годы первых пятилеток.) Civil Aviation of USSR in the years of the Great Patriotic War (Гражданская авиация СССР в годы Великой Отечественной войны), Special Report, Airports - Progressive technologies No.1, 2003, Group of companies Progresstech
  10. ^ a b c d "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 47. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  11. ^ a b c Alexander Kouzminov Biological Espionage: Special Operations of the Soviet and Russian Foreign Intelligence Services in the West, Greenhill Books, 2006, ISBN 1-853-67646-2
  12. ^ Viktor Suvorov Aquarium (Аквариум), 1985, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, ISBN 0-241-11545-0
  13. ^ a b c Alex Goldfarb, with Marina Litvinenko Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB, The Free Press, 2007, ISBN 1-416-55165-4
  14. ^ a b BBC News (2003-04-29). "No more service with a scowl". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
  15. ^ Aeroflot - Press releases (2007-01-24). "Aeroflot Board Of Directors Summarised The Business Results For 2006". Department of Public Relations. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  16. ^ Aeroflot - Press releases (2007-03-14). "Aeroflot has received one more new A320 airliner" (in Russian). Department of Public Relations. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  17. ^ Airfinance Journal (2007-05-11). "Aeroflot Increases Earnings". Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  18. ^ [3] The guardian, Russia's Aeroflot board recommends 2008 dividends
  19. ^ Template:Ru icon "Аэрофлот переходит на зимнее расписание". aviaforum.ru. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
  20. ^ Template:Ru icon "Информация по авиакомпании". Polyot-Sirena. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
  21. ^ Belfast Telegraph article
  22. ^ Aeroflot Fleet
  23. ^ [4]
  24. ^ Finnair sells two Boeing MD-11 aircraft (Finnair online) 15 May 2007
  25. ^ International Herald Tribune (2006-09-19). "Aeroflot reserves 22 Boeing jets". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  26. ^ Aeroflot - World Media review (2007-03-17). "Aeroflot decides to buy Airbus for long-haul fleet". Financial Times. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
  27. ^ Nicholson, Alex (2007-06-09). "Boeing, Aeroflot sign 'Dreamliner' deal". USA TODAY, Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-10-09. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |ap-title= ignored (help)
  28. ^ "Aeroflot code-sharing flights Winter 2008-2009". Aeroflot. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  29. ^ http://aviation-safety.net/database/operator/airline.php?var=6834 Aviation Safety Network
  30. ^ "Авиакатастрофа в Кемеровской области" (in Russian). Kommersant. 1994-03-24. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
  31. ^ "September 14, 2008." Aeroflot. Accessed September 14, 2008.

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