PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the
flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations.
Hist ...
and the largest airline of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
.
The airline was founded in 1923, making Aeroflot one of the
oldest active airlines in the world. Aeroflot is headquartered in the
Central Administrative Okrug
Central Administrative Okrug, or Tsentralny Administrativny Okrug (russian: Центра́льный администрати́вный о́круг, ''Tsentralny administrativny okrug''), is one of the twelve administrative okrugs of Moscow, Rus ...
,
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, with its
hub being
Sheremetyevo International Airport
Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport ( rus, links=no, Международный аэропорт Шереметьево имени А. С. Пушкина, p=ʂɨrʲɪˈmʲetʲjɪvə ''Mezhdunarodny aeroport Sheremetyevo imen ...
.
Before the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, the airline flew to 146 destinations in 52 countries, excluding
codeshared services. The number of destinations was significantly reduced after many countries banned Russian aircraft; as of 8 March 2022, Aeroflot flies only to destinations in Russia and Belarus.
From its inception to the early 1990s, Aeroflot was the flag carrier and a
state-owned enterprise
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...
of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
(USSR). During this time, Aeroflot grew its
fleet
Fleet may refer to:
Vehicles
*Fishing fleet
*Naval fleet
*Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles
*Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company
Places
Canada
*Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet
England
* The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach, ...
to over five thousand domestically made aircraft and expanded to operate a domestic and international flight network of over three thousand destinations throughout the Soviet Union and the globe, making the airline
the largest in the world at the time.
In addition to passenger flights, Aeroflot also committed to freight operations and serving the state through transportation and military assistance. Following the
dissolution of the USSR
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, the carrier was restructured into an
open joint-stock company and embarked on a radical transformation process. Aeroflot shrank the fleet dramatically while at the same time purchasing Western aircraft and newer domestic models and focusing on expanding its international market share before moving to boost its domestic market share.
By the end of 2017, Aeroflot controlled roughly 40% of the air market in Russia. Aeroflot owns
– an airline based in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
Pobeda – a
low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...
, and 51% of airline
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
, based in the
Russian Far East
The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...
. Altogether, Aeroflot and its subsidiaries own 359 aircraft as of 31 December 2019, composed mainly of
Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
,
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
, and domestic models such as the
Sukhoi Superjet 100
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 () or SSJ100 is a regional jet designed by Russian aircraft company Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, a division of the United Aircraft Corporation (now: Regional Aircraft – Branch of the Irkut Corporation). With development starti ...
, and today's Russified
MC-21
The Irkut MC-21 (russian: Иркут МС-21) is a single-aisle airliner, developed in Russia by the Yakovlev Design Bureau and produced by its parent Irkut, a branch of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), itself a 92%-owned subsidiary of ...
. Aeroflot also formerly had a cargo subsidiary named
Aeroflot-Cargo, though the branch later merged with the parent airline.
Aeroflot became a member of
SkyTeam
SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld, respectively. Its annual passenger count is 630 million ...
in April 2006, making it the first carrier in the former Soviet Union to do so. In 2022, SkyTeam and Aeroflot agreed to temporarily suspend the airline's membership, one of many
corporate responses to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
The first round of sanctions was applied in March 2014, after the Russian annexation of Crimea and its support for the War in Donbas listed in List of companies that applied sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
As of 15 March 2022, ...
.
As of March 2020, the
Government of Russia
The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russia ...
owns 51% of Aeroflot through the
Federal Agency for State Property Management
The Federal Agency for State Property Management (Rosimushchestvo) () is a subdivision of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development that manages Russia's federal state property.
History
The agency was formed by a presidential decree, No.314, ...
, with the rest of the shares being
free-floating.
History
Early history of Soviet civil aviation
![History Aeroflot Dobrolet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/History_Aeroflot_Dobrolet.jpg)
On 17 January 1921, the
Sovnarkom
The Councils of People's Commissars (SNK; russian: Совет народных комиссаров (СНК), ''Sovet narodnykh kommissarov''), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (Совнарком), were the highest executive authorities of ...
of the
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
published "About Air Transportation". The document signed by its chair
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
set out the basic regulations on
air transport
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...
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
Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as aerospace, which is the ...
. 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 (Chief Administration of the Civil Air Fleet) (russian: link=no, Главвоздухфлот (Главное управление воздушного флота)) was established, and it began mail and passenger flights on the Moscow-
Oryol
Oryol ( rus, Орёл, p=ɐˈrʲɵl, lit. ''eagle''), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast situated on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow. It is part of the Central Fed ...
-
Kursk
Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...
-
Kharkov
Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine. route on 1 May 1921 using
Sikorsky Ilya Muromets
The Sikorsky ''Ilya Muromets'' (russian: Сикорский Илья Муромец) (Sikorsky S-22, S-23, S-24, S-25, S-26 and S-27) were a class of Russian pre-World War I large four-engine commercial airliners and military heavy bombers used ...
aircraft.
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
The Fokker F.III was a single-engined high-winged monoplane aircraft produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It could carry five passengers. The aircraft was also built under licence in Germany as the Fokker-Grulich F.III ...
flying between
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
and Moscow.
The service was initially operated twice a week and restricted to the carriage of mail.
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
Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work ...
in the Soviet Union. After a resolution of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee direct ...
, the Enterprise for Friends of the Air Fleet (ODVF) was founded on 8 March 1923, followed by the formation of
Dobrolet (russian: link=no, Добролёт) on 17 March 1923. The artist
Alexander Rodchenko
Aleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Ро́дченко; – 3 December 1956) was a Russian and Soviet artist, sculptor, photographer, and graphic designer. He was one of the founders ...
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. Regular flights by Dobrolet from Moscow to
Nizhniy Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
commenced on 15 July 1923. During the same period, an additional two airlines were established;
Zakavia Zakavia (Transcaucasian Society of Air Transport, russian: Закавиа, Закавказское общество воздушных сообщений) was an airline in Georgia and later in Azerbaijan, formed in 1923 and ceased in 1929. Zakavia ...
being based in
Tiflis
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
, and
Ukrvozdukhput
Ukrpovitroshliakh (Ukrainian Society of Airways, ''Ukrains'kyi povitrianyi shliakh'
) was an airline based in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR during the interbellum. It operated scheduled domestic (USSR) services. It was the first civil aviation company o ...
based in
Kharkov
Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine. .
During 1923 an agreement was signed establishing a subdivision of Dobrolet to be based in
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...
, which would operate to points in
Soviet Central Asia
Soviet Central Asia (russian: link=no, Советская Средняя Азия, Sovetskaya Srednyaya Aziya) was the part of Central Asia administered by the Soviet Union between 1918 and 1991, when the Central Asian republics declared ind ...
. Services between Tashkent and
Alma Ata
Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of t ...
began on 27 April 1924, and by the end of 1924 the subdivision had carried 480 passengers and of mail and freight, on a total of 210 flights.
In March 1924, Dobrolet began operating flights from
Sevastopol
Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...
to
Yalta
Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...
and
Yevpatoriya
Yevpatoria ( uk, Євпаторія, Yevpatoriia; russian: Евпатория, Yevpatoriya; crh, , , gr, Ευπατορία) is a city of regional significance in Western Crimea, north of Kalamita Bay. Yevpatoria serves as the administrative ...
in the
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
. Dobrolet's route network was extended during the 1925–1927 period to include
Kazan
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...
and regular flights between Moscow and Kharkov were inaugurated. Plans were made for Dobrolet flights to Kharkov to connect with Ukrvozdukhput services to
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
,
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
and
Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...
. During 1925, Dobrolet operated 2,000 flights over a distance of , carrying 14,000 passengers and of freight, on a route network extending to some .
Dobrolet was transformed from a Russian to an all-Union enterprise on 21 September 1926 as a result of Sovnarkom resolutions, and in 1928 Dobrolet was merged with Ukrvozdukhput; the latter having merged with Zakavia in 1925.
Formative years
![Aeroflot ANT-20bis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Aeroflot_ANT-20bis.jpg)
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.
The
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
"Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
Congress in 1933 set out development plans for the civil aviation industry for the following five years, which would see 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;
in 1930 some fifty percent of aircraft flying services in the Soviet Union were of foreign manufacture.
Expansion of air routes which had taken shape in the late 1920s,
continued into the 1930s. Local (MVL) services were greatly expanded in Soviet Central Asia and the
Soviet Far East
The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...
,
which by the end of the second
five-year plan in 1937 was in length out of a total network of some .
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
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
route, and began operating the ex-Deruluft route from
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
to
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
utilising
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner
manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
s and
Tupolev ANT-35
The Tupolev ANT-35 was a 1930s Soviet Union, Soviet twin-engined light transport monoplane that entered service with Aeroflot in 1937 as the Tupolev PS-35.
Development
In 1935, Andrei Tupolev ordered a design team led by Alexander Arkhangelsky ( ...
s (PS-35s). Flights from Moscow to Berlin, via Königsberg, were suspended until 1940, when they were restarted by Aeroflot and
Deutsche Luft Hansa
''Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.'' (from 1933 styled as ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' and also known as ''Luft Hansa'', ''Lufthansa'', or DLH) was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and th ...
as a result of the signing of the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
, long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
, image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg
, image_width = 200
, caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...
, and would continue until the beginning of the
Great Patriotic War
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...
in 1941.
![Ps-84-nowarra135](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Ps-84-nowarra135.jpg)
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
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
'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
The Lisunov Li-2 (NATO reporting name: Cab), originally designated PS-84, was a license-built Soviet-version of the Douglas DC-3. It was produced by Factory #84 in Khimki, Moscow-Khimki and, after evacuation in 1941, at Tashkent Aviation Pro ...
(license-built Douglas DC-3) commenced in 1939, and the aircraft became the backbone of Aeroflot's fleet on mainline trunk routes. When the
Soviet Union was invaded by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
on 22 June 1941, the following day the Sovnarkom placed the Civil Air Fleet under the control of
Narkomat A People's Commissariat (russian: народный комиссариат; Narkomat) was a structure in the Soviet state (in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, in other union and autonomous republics, in the Soviet Union) from 1917– ...
, 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 , and amongst the longest routes being operated from Moscow were those to
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
(via
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
), Tashkent and
Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
.
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
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, Odessa and
Sevastopol
Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...
.
During the
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...
, between August 1942 and February 1943, Aeroflot operated 46,000 missions to Stalingrad, ferrying in of supplies and some 30,000 troops. Following the defeat of the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
, some 80
Junkers Ju 52
The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers.
Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German Aeros ...
/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.
Whilst civil operations in
European Russia
European Russia (russian: Европейская Россия, russian: европейская часть России, label=none) is the western and most populated part of Russia. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the cou ...
west of the front line, which ran from
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
to Moscow to
Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...
, were prevented from operating because of the war, services from Moscow to the
Urals
The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through European ...
,
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
, Central Asia, and other regions which were not affected by the war, continued.
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 of cargo.
Aeroflot during the Cold War
![Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-14 at Arlanda, November 1970](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Aeroflot_Ilyushin_Il-14_at_Arlanda%2C_November_1970.jpg)
At the end of World War II, the
Soviet government
The Government of the Soviet Union ( rus, Прави́тельство СССР, p=prɐˈvʲitʲɪlʲstvə ɛs ɛs ɛs ˈɛr, r=Pravítelstvo SSSR, lang=no), formally the All-Union Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, commonly ab ...
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.
The government made it a priority in the immediate postwar years to expand services from Moscow to the capital of the
Union republics
The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics ( rus, Сою́зные Респу́блики, r=Soyúznye Respúbliki) were national-based administrative units of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( ...
, in addition to important industrial centres on the country. To enable this, the government transferred to Aeroflot a large number of
Lisunov Li-2
The Lisunov Li-2 (NATO reporting name: Cab), originally designated PS-84, was a license-built Soviet-version of the Douglas DC-3. It was produced by Factory #84 in Khimki, Moscow-Khimki and, after evacuation in 1941, at Tashkent Aviation Pro ...
s, and they would become the backbone of the fleet.
The
Ilyushin Il-12
The Ilyushin Il-12 (NATO reporting name: Coach) was a Soviet twin-engine cargo aircraft, developed in the mid-1940s for small and medium-haul airline routes and as a military transport.
Design and development
The Il-12 was developed as a priva ...
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
Yakutsk (russian: Якутск, p=jɪˈkutsk; sah, Дьокуускай, translit=Djokuuskay, ) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one of ...
,
Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...
, Vladivostok, Alma Ata, Tashkent,
Sochi
Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
,
Mineralnye Vody
Mineralnye Vody (Min-Vody) ( rus, Минеральные Воды (Мин-Воды), p=mʲɪnʲɪˈralʲnɨjə ˈvodɨ, mʲɪn ˈvodɨ; lit. ''mineral waters'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located a ...
and Tbilisi. By 1950 the Il-18 was withdrawn from service, being replaced by Il-12s.
MVL and
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
services received a boost in March 1948, when the first
Antonov An-2
The Antonov An-2 ("kukuruznik"—corn crop duster; USAF/DoD reporting name Type 22, NATO reporting name Colt) is a Soviet mass-produced single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed and manufactured by the Antonov Design Bure ...
s 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.
![Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-104B at Arlanda, July 1972](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Aeroflot_Tupolev_Tu-104B_at_Arlanda%2C_July_1972.jpg)
Aeroflot's route network had extended to by 1950, and it carried 1,603,700 passengers, of freight and of mail during the same 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.
On 30 November 1954, the
Ilyushin Il-14
The Ilyushin Il-14 (NATO reporting name: Crate) was a Soviet twin-engine commercial and military personnel and cargo transport aircraft that first flew in 1950 in aviation, 1950, and entered service in 1954. The Il-14 was also manufactured in Eas ...
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 .
The
20th Communist Party Congress, held in 1956, saw plans for Aeroflot services to be dramatically increased. The airline would see its overall activities increased from its then current levels by 3.8 times, and it was set the target of the carriage of 16,000,000 passengers by 1960. In order 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
The Tupolev Tu-104 (NATO reporting name: Camel) is a retired twinjet, medium-range, narrow-body turbojet-powered Soviet airliner. It was the second to enter regular service, behind the British de Havilland Comet, and was the only jetliner operat ...
jet airliner
A jet airliner or jetliner is an airliner powered by jet engines (passenger jet aircraft). Airliners usually have two or four jet engines; three-engined designs were popular in the 1970s but are less common today. Airliners are commonly cl ...
entered service on the Moscow-
Omsk
Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...
-
Irkutsk
Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is ...
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
Boris Pavlovich Bugaev (Russian: Борис Павлович Бугаев; 9 July 1923 – 13 January 2007) was a Soviet military pilot and politician.
Biography
Bugaev was born in the village of Mankivka in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Repu ...
with flights from Moscow to
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. The aircraft placed Aeroflot in an enviable position, as airlines in the West had operated throughout the 1950s with large piston-engined aircraft.
By 1958 the route network covered , 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.
![Aeroflot Yakovlev Yak-40 in Sweden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Aeroflot_Yakovlev_Yak-40_in_Sweden.jpg)
Aeroflot introduced the
Antonov An-10
The Antonov An-10 Ukraina ( ua, Антонов Ан-10 Україна, , Ukraine; NATO reporting name: Cat) is a four-engined turboprop passenger transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union.
Design and development
Development of a four-en ...
and
Ilyushin Il-18
The Ilyushin Il-18 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-18; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known and most durable Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world ...
in 1959, and together with its existing jet aircraft, the airline was able to extend services on modern aircraft to twenty one cities during 1960.
The
Tupolev Tu-114
The Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya ( ru , link=no, Tyполев Тy-114 Poccия; NATO reporting name Cleat) was a turboprop-powered long-range airliner designed by the Tupolev design bureau and built in the Soviet Union from May 1955. The aircraft was ...
, then the world's largest airliner, entered service with the Soviet carrier on 24 April 1961 on the Moscow-
Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...
route; covering a distance of in 8 hours 20 minutes.
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.
Further expansion came in 1962 when both the
Tupolev Tu-124
The Tupolev Tu-124 (NATO reporting name: Cookpot) was a 56-passenger short-range twinjet airliner built in the Soviet Union. It was the first Soviet airliner powered by turbofan engines.
Design and development
Developed from the medium-range ...
and
Antonov An-24
The Antonov An-24 (Russian/Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-24) (NATO reporting name: Coke) is a 44-seat twin turboprop transport/passenger aircraft designed in 1957 in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau and manufactured by Kyiv, Irku ...
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
Mineralnye Vody (Min-Vody) ( rus, Минеральные Воды (Мин-Воды), p=mʲɪnʲɪˈralʲnɨjə ˈvodɨ, mʲɪn ˈvodɨ; lit. ''mineral waters'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located a ...
to 48 cities across the Soviet Union, denoting the importance of the operation of holiday aircraft services to Aeroflot.
Statistics for the same year showed Aeroflot operating an all-Union route network extending over , and carrying 36,800,000 passengers.
By 1966 Aeroflot carried 47,200,000 passengers over a domestic route network of . 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.
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.
The year 1967 saw the introduction into service of the
Ilyushin Il-62
The Ilyushin Il-62 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-62; NATO reporting name: Classic) is a Soviet long-range narrow-body jetliner conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin. As successor to the popular turboprop Il-18 and with capacity for almost 200 pa ...
and
Tupolev Tu-134
The Tupolev Tu-134 (NATO reporting name: Crusty) is a twin-engined, narrow-body jet airliner built in the Soviet Union for short and medium-haul routes from 1966 to 1989. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain ot ...
, and in September 1968 the
Yakovlev Yak-40
The Yakovlev Yak-40 (russian: Яковлев Як-40; NATO reporting name: Codling) is a regional jet designed by Yakovlev. The trijet's maiden flight was in 1966, and it was in production from 1967 to 1981. Introduced in September 1968, the Ya ...
regional jet
A regional jet (RJ) is a jet-powered regional airliner with fewer than 100 seats. The first one was the Sud-Aviation Caravelle in 1959, followed by the widespread Yakovlev Yak-40, Fokker F-28, and BAe 146. The 1990s saw the emergence of th ...
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 Pam Am jointly. According to the book ''The Aeroflot Story: From Russia With Luck'': "This business relationship would become 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."
![Flag of the Aeroflot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Flag_of_the_Aeroflot.svg)
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.
In January 1971, the Central Administration of International Air Traffic (russian: link=no, Центральное управление международных воздушных сообщений) (TsUMVS) was established within the framework of
IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...
, 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.
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
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
, revoking Aeroflot's license to operate flights into and out of the United States following the downing of
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (KE007/KAL007)The flight number KAL 007 was used by air traffic control, while the public flight booking system used KE 007 was a scheduled Korean Air Lines flight from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage, Alask ...
by the Soviet Air Force. At the start of the 1990s Aeroflot reorganised again giving more autonomy to territorial divisions.
REG Davies, former curator of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
, claims that by 1992 Aeroflot had over 600,000 people operating over 10,000 aircraft.
Other functions
![Aeroflot Mil Mi-10 at Groningen Airport](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Aeroflot_Mil_Mi-10_at_Groningen_Airport.jpg)
Aeroflot also performed other functions, including
air ambulance
Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...
;
aerial application
Aerial application, or what is informally referred to as crop dusting, involves spraying crops with crop protection products from an agricultural aircraft. Planting certain types of seed are also included in aerial application. The specific sp ...
; heavy lifting for the
Soviet Space Agency
The Soviet space program (russian: Космическая программа СССР, Kosmicheskaya programma SSSR) was the national space program of the Former countries and empires, former Soviet Union, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( ...
; offshore oil platform support; exploration and
aeromagnetic survey
An aeromagnetic survey is a common type of geophysical survey carried out using a magnetometer aboard or towed behind an aircraft. The principle is similar to a magnetic survey carried out with a hand-held magnetometer, but allows much larger ar ...
for natural resources; support for construction projects; transport of military troops and supplies (as an adjunct to the
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
); 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
Air transports for heads of state and government are, in many countries, provided by the air force in specially equipped airliners or business jets. One such aircraft in particular has become part of popular culture: Air Force One, used by the P ...
and other VIP transports of government and
Communist party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
officials.
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
The Mil Mi-10 (NATO reporting name Harke), given the product number ''izdeliye 60'', is a Soviet military transport helicopter of flying crane configuration, developed from the Mi-6, entering service in 1963. While most versions had been reti ...
flying crane capable of lifting . Hauling of heavy cargo, including vehicles, was performed by the world's largest operational helicopter, the
Mil Mi-26
The Mil Mi-26 (russian: link=no, Миль Ми-26, NATO reporting name: Halo) is a Soviet/Russian heavy transport helicopter. Its product code is ''Izdeliye 90''. Operated by both military and civilian operators, it is the largest and most po ...
. 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
![Aeroflot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Aeroflot.svg)
In the early 1990s, the Soviet Union underwent massive political upheavals, culminating in the
dissolution of the State. Former
republics of the Soviet Union
The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics ( rus, Сою́зные Респу́блики, r=Soyúznye Respúbliki) were National delimitation in the Soviet Union, national-based administrative units of ...
declared their independence during January 1990 – December 1991, resulting in the establishment of several independent countries, along with fifteen republics and the
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
(CIS). 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 ''AeroflotRussian International Airlines (ARIA)''.
In 1992 Aeroflot was divided into a number of regional airlines,
whereas international routes were operated by ARIA.
Smaller regional airlines which emerged from the old Aeroflot were sometimes referred to as ''
Babyflots'';
Bashkirian Airlines
BAL – Bashkirian Airlines (russian: «Башкирские авиалинии», ba, «БАЛ Башҡортостан авиалиниялары») was an airline with its head office on the property of Ufa International Airport in Ufa, R ...
,
Krasnoyarsk Airlines,
Moscow Airways
Moscow Airways was a Russian airline that was formed as a subsidiary of Aeroflot to operate the airline's fleet of Ilyushin Il-62s.
History
It began operating in 1991, flying passengers and airfreight. Among the airline's destinations ...
and
Tatarstan Airlines
Tatarstan Airlines ( tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Һава Юллары, translit=Tatarstan Hava Yulları; russian: ОАО «Авиакомпания „Татарстан“», «Aviakompaniya „Tatarstan“») was the regional airline of the ...
were among the carriers that were formed from former Aeroflot directorates.
In 1994, Aeroflot was registered as a
joint-stock company
A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certificates ...
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 ''AeroflotRussian Airlines'' to reflect the change in the company strategy. The Aeroflot fleet shrank dramatically in the post-Soviet era, dropping from 5,400 planes in 1991 to 115 in 1996.
![Aeroflot A321-200 VP-BWN SVO 2008-9-15](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Aeroflot_A321-200_VP-BWN_SVO_2008-9-15.png)
Since the dissolution, Aeroflot has been actively working towards promoting and redefining itself as a safe and reliable airline.
In the early 2000s, the airline hired British consultants for rebranding.
From the start, plans were afoot to replace the
hammer and sickle
The hammer and sickle (Unicode: "☭") zh, s=锤子和镰刀, p=Chuízi hé liándāo or zh, s=镰刀锤子, p=Liándāo chuízi, labels=no is a symbol meant to represent proletarian solidarity, a union between agricultural and industri ...
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.
A new
livery
A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...
and uniforms for flight attendants were designed and a promotional campaign launched in 2003. 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.
Airbus A319
The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body, commercial passenger Twinjet, twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a ...
s and
A320s for short-haul flights in Europe; and
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...
s and
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
s for long-haul routes; were gradually incorporated into the fleet. Aeroflot began working with the US travel technology firm
Sabre Corporation
Sabre Corporation is a travel technology company based in Southlake, Texas. It is the largest global distribution systems provider for air bookings in North America. American Airlines founded the company in 1960, and it was spun off in 2000.
I ...
in 1997, and in 2004 signed an agreement to use Sabre's software as its new Computer reservation system, Reservation System, further extending the relationship with Sabre in 2010. In the spring of 2004 an expansion on the domestic market was undertaken, aiming to gain 30% share by 2010 ( it held approximately 9%). The first task was to outperform S7 Airlines, 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".
In ,
Aeroflot became the tenth airline to join
SkyTeam
SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld, respectively. Its annual passenger count is 630 million ...
,
and the first air carrier in the former Soviet Union to do so.
The company announced its plan to increase cargo operations. It registered the ''
Aeroflot-Cargo'' trademark in 2006. During that year Aeroflot carried 7,290,000 passengers and 145,300 tons of mail and cargo to 89 destinations in 47 countries. It saw improvements in its earnings and number of passengers carried. The net profit 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. Aeroflot became the sole shareholder of Donavia—a domestic airline then-named ''Aeroflot-Don''
—in , when it boosted its stake in the company from 51% to 100%;
soon afterwards, Aeroflot-Nord was created following the buyout of Arkhangelsk Airlines.
Aeroflot was owned by the Russian Government via Rosimushchestvo (51.17%), National Reserve Corporation (27%) and employees and others (19%), and had 14,900 employees.
Expansion and re-organization
![Rossiya, EI-UNN, Boeing 777-312 (32182478212)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Rossiya%2C_EI-UNN%2C_Boeing_777-312_%2832182478212%29.jpg)
In , the Russian government announced that all regional airlines owned by the state through the holding company ''Rostechnologii'' would be consolidated with the national carrier Aeroflot in order to increase the airlines' financial viability. The merger was completed in late in a deal worth million, Aeroflot's sister company Aeroflot-Finance became the major shareholder of Vladivostok Avia, Saravia and
, and the sole shareholder of both SAT Airlines and Orenair.
It was reported in that Saravia was sold to private investors, as the recent-acquired regional airline was not in line with Aeroflot's business strategy.
It was reported in that in the third quarter of the same year Aeroflot would combine its subsidiaries Vladivostok Air and SAT Airlines into a new subsidiary regional carrier based in the
Russian Far East
The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...
.
The subsidiary was effectively created in and was originally named ''Taiga Airline'' before later being renamed ''Aurora Airline''.
The new company, 51%-owned by Aeroflot, was expected to link Moscow with the Russian Far East, whereas SAT Airlines and Vladivostok Avia were expected to cease operations in early 2014.
In June 2013, during the World Airline Awards which took place at the Le Bourget air show, Aeroflot was awarded the international prize as the best air carrier in Eastern Europe.
In , the company introduced an affiliated
low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...
(LCC), ''Dobrolet (low-cost airline), Dobrolet''.
The LCC started operations in ;
they ceased on owing to EU sanctions over the airline launching flights to Crimea.
In late , Aeroflot announced the launch of a new LCC in to replace ''Dobrolet''; it would use aircraft transferred from Orenair.
The new LCC, named ''
Pobeda'', started operations from Vnukovo Airport in ;
it had plans to fly to Belgorod,
Kazan
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...
, Perm, Russia, Perm, Samara, Russia, Samara, Surgut, Tyumen, Ufa, Volgograd and Yekaterinburg.
In March 2014 as a response to the Revolution of Dignity the company announced rerouting their flights to avoid flying over the territory of Ukraine. The announcement (together with worse than expected financial results) caused an almost 10% drop in the share price of the company. Also, in , Aeroflot IATA airline designator, flight designator ″SU″ was adopted by its subsidiary Rossiya.
In September 2015, Aeroflot agreed to acquire 75% of Transaero Airlines for the symbolic price of one ruble, but abandoned the plan later after failing to come to terms on a takeover. The carrier did take over a number of Transaero's aircraft by assuming its leases after the defunct airline's collapse. This introduced the Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 to Aeroflot's fleet. In addition, the company suggested that it would cancel some of its jet orders as a result of the newly assumed aircraft.
Following a prior announcement, Aeroflot subsidiaries Rossiya Airlines, Donavia and Orenair combined their operations in late . Orenair AOC was cancelled by Russian authorities in late .
Aeroflot filed both Donavia and Orenair for bankruptcy in January 2017.
Orenair and Donavia were formally declared bankrupt in February 2017 and August 2017, respectively.
2022 airspace bans and sanctions
In February 2022, as a result of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian invasion of Ukraine, Aeroflot and other Russian airlines were banned from the airspace of countries including the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, Canada and also the European Union. On 25 February 2022, Manchester United F.C., Manchester United cancelled a sponsorship agreement that had identified Aeroflot as its official carrier since July 2013, citing the war. On 1 March 2022, the United States closed their airspace to Russian airlines, effectively suspending Aeroflot's operations in the country. On 3 March 2022, Sabre Corporation, Sabre, the supplier of Aeroflot's Computer reservation system, Reservation System as well as one of the suppliers of Global distribution system, GDS access for Aeroflot internationally, announced that it would terminate Aeroflot's international GDS access; some senior airline industry figures criticised this as not going far enough, since Sabre was not cutting off Aeroflot's main reservation system.
On 5 March 2022, Aeroflot announced that with effect from 8 March it would be suspending all international flights except Minsk, to avoid any possible seizures of foreign-leased aircraft.
On 11 April 2022 the European Commission declared that Aeroflot will be List of air carriers banned in the European Union, banned from flying in the European Union because it does not meet international safety standards. This was due to Russia's forced re-registration of foreign-owned aircraft, knowingly allowing their operation without valid certificates of airworthiness, which is in breach of international aviation safety standards. The European Commissioner for Transport, EU Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said this practice "poses an immediate safety threat". She also stated that: "this decision is not another sanction against Russia; it has been taken solely on the basis of technical and safety grounds. We do not mix safety with politics". This safety-related ban is distinct from the other ban enacted in February 2022 in response to the invasion.
On 8 April the US Department of Commerce restricted flights on aircraft manufactured in the US for Aeroflot, Aviastar, Azur Air, Belavia, Rossiya Airlines, Rossiya and Utair. It seems the US wants to reclaim ownership of the intellectual property.
On 16 June the US broadened its restrictions on the six airlines after violations of the sanctions regime were detected. The effect of the restrictions is to ground the US-manufactured part of its fleet.
As of July 2022, Aeroflot ended its own
Sukhoi Superjet 100
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 () or SSJ100 is a regional jet designed by Russian aircraft company Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, a division of the United Aircraft Corporation (now: Regional Aircraft – Branch of the Irkut Corporation). With development starti ...
operations as these had all gradually been transferred to subsidiary
.
As of November 2022, Aeroflot has shown resilience to Western sanctions despite using aircraft manufactured by
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
and
Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
with these aircraft being subject to sanctions on replacement parts. This success has been due to a reduced flight schedule and cannibalisation of aircraft. The lack of international travel also means less mileage on aircraft as they are being used domestically. Russia hopes to keep its aircraft flying despite the sanctions, much like Iran has. However Aeroflot’s jets are much newer with their purchase on lease from the West starting in 2001. Long term sanctions on replacement parts from the West may have safety implications longer term.
Corporate affairs
Headquarters
![Moscow, Arbat 12-10](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Moscow%2C_Arbat_12-10.JPG)
The headquarters of Aeroflot are in Arbat District,
Central Administrative Okrug
Central Administrative Okrug, or Tsentralny Administrativny Okrug (russian: Центра́льный администрати́вный о́круг, ''Tsentralny administrativny okrug''), is one of the twelve administrative okrugs of Moscow, Rus ...
, Moscow. By 2009 Aeroflot began leasing 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 headquarters in proximity to Sheremetyevo Airport.
Key people
, Aeroflot's CEO position is held by Vitaly Savelyev.
Savelyev was appointed on and succeeded Valery Okulov. Expiring in , The Russian government extended Savelyev's appointment for another five years.
In late August 2018, Savelyev was re-confirmed in the CEO position for a further five-year period.
In December 2018, the Russian government appointed Russia's Minister of Transport Evgeny Ditrich as chairman of the board.
Ownership and subsidiaries
![Aeroflot Group fleet size](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Aeroflot_Group_fleet_size.png)
, Aeroflot was 51% state-owned. The Aeroflot Group, Russia's largest airline holding company, included several subsidiaries:
Pobeda, Rossiya Airlines, Rossiya, Donavia, Orenair, and
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
.
At that time, the Aeroflot Group employed 30,328; 17,678 of these people worked for Aeroflot JSC.
Aeroflot Airline carried 35.8 million passengers during 2018, an 8.9% increase year-on-year (YOY). The Aeroflot Group, comprising Aeroflot Airline, Aurora, Pobeda and Rossiya, carried 55.7 million passengers during the same period, 11% up YOY. , the Group fleet totalled 366 aircraft, of which 253 corresponded to Aeroflot Airline.
Staffing
In 2016 the company decided to link the pay of its flight attendants to their dress size. All the flight attendants were photographed and measured, and some were weighed. Women above a Russian size 48 were barred from international flights. 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" and that every extra kilogramme meant spending an extra 800 roubles per year on fuel. The company denied all the accusations of discrimination. In September 2017 the appeal court decided that requirements banning employment by women who wore large sizes was unenforceable and ordered compensation for Yevgenia Magurina, a flight attendant who filed a discrimination suit. Two women were awarded token compensation, but the court did not rule explicitly that the policy was discriminatory.
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.
Destinations
, Aeroflot served 146 destinations in 52 countries.
Alliances
![VP-BDK at STR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/VP-BDK_at_STR.jpg)
Aeroflot is a member of
SkyTeam
SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld, respectively. Its annual passenger count is 630 million ...
,
first signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 24 May 2004 and becoming a full member in April 2006. 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. Aeroflot's cargo branch,
Aeroflot-Cargo, which was later reintegrated into the parent company, operated as part of SkyTeam Cargo. On 27 April 2022, SkyTeam and Aeroflot agreed to temporarily suspend the airline's membership.
Codeshare agreements
As of February 2022, Aeroflot has codeshare agreements with the following airlines.
Delta Air Lines and KLM withdrew their codesharing with Aeroflot after the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
.
* Aerolíneas Argentinas
* Aeroméxico
* Air Europa
* Air France
* Air Malta
* Air Serbia
* airBaltic
*
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
* Bangkok Airways
* Brussels Airlines
* Bulgaria Air
* China Eastern Airlines
* China Southern Airlines
* Czech Airlines
* Etihad Airways
* Finnair
* Garuda Indonesia
* Icelandair
* Japan Airlines
* Kenya Airways
* Korean Air
* LOT Polish Airlines
* MIAT Mongolian Airlines
*
* S7 Airlines
* Saudia
* TAROM
* Vietnam Airlines
As of August 2022, only three codesharing agreements remained, all three subsidiaries of Aeroflot:
*
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
*
Pobeda
*
Fleet
The Aeroflot passenger fleet consists of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body and wide-body aircraft from six aircraft families: the Airbus A320, the
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
, the Airbus A350 XWB, the Boeing 737 Next Generation, Boeing 737, the Boeing 777, and the
Sukhoi Superjet 100
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 () or SSJ100 is a regional jet designed by Russian aircraft company Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, a division of the United Aircraft Corporation (now: Regional Aircraft – Branch of the Irkut Corporation). With development starti ...
. , there are 181 passenger aircraft registered in the Aeroflot fleet.
Frequent flyer programme
Aeroflot uses Aeroflot Bonus as their frequent-flyer programme. It has four levels with various perks.
Aeroflot Bonus levels
Aeroflot Bonus web-site
Accidents and incidents
See also
* List of airports in Russia
* Transport in Russia
* Transport in the Soviet Union
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Aeroflot,
Airlines established in 1923
Airlines of Russia
Airlines of the Soviet Union
Arbat District
Companies based in Moscow
Companies listed on the Moscow Exchange
Former Aeroflot divisions
Government-owned airlines
Soviet brands
Government-owned companies of Russia
Russian brands
SkyTeam
1923 establishments in the Soviet Union