OREANDA-NEWS. Beginning from March 29 2009, Aeroflot Russian Airlines JSC shifts to the summer timetable, effective until October 24, reported the press-centre of Aeroflot.

The schedule aims first of all at a greater market penetration and presence, conservative extension and optimization of route network, more intensive efficiency-boosting cooperation with partners, which can drive up the company’s efficiency.   

Aeroflot will fly to 47 countries across the globe (compared to 49 in 2008), including five CIS counties (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan). The airline will perform its own flights to 94 destinations (to 96 in 2008), among them 61 abroad – 41 in Europe, 4 in America, 2 in Africa, 5 in the Middle and Far East, 9 in Asia.

Domestic routes will include 27 Russian cities, the most popular destinations where Aeroflot’s positions have substantially strengthened in 2008: Anapa, Astrakhan, Barnaul, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Kaliningrad, Kemerovo, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Magadan, Mineral Waters, Nizhnevartovsk, Novosibirsk, Norilsk, Omsk, Perm, Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky, Samara, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Surgut, Ufa, Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Chelyabinsk. The CIS route network will include 6 destinations: Baku, Bishkek, Yerevan, Kyiv, Simferopol, and Tashkent.

From May 15, Aeroflot launches its own flights to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius (four times a week); and from June 3, regular B767 flights start on the line Moscow – Guangzhou - Moscow (three times a week).

The new schedule includes more frequent flights to Vladivostok (7-11 flights a week) and Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky (7-9 flights a week). As compared to summer 2008, the frequency of Dubai flights has doubled (from 7 to 14 flights a week).

In the light of the reduced demand and the need for optimized fleet exploitation, the summer timetable suspends the routes Moscow – Jidda – Moscow, Moscow – Mumbai – Moscow, Moscow – Toronto – Moscow. Flight frequency is reduced on a number of destinations including Ufa, Astrakhan, Chelyabinsk, etc.

Aeroflot will perform code sharing flights with its partner airlines, including “Tatarstan” and STC Rossiya, to 61 destinations – 49 abroad and 12 in Russia. The company continues to improve the code sharing flight schedule and business terms of the agreements in order to maximize flight selection opportunities for its customers and partners.
Aeroflot’s membership in the global SkyTeam alliance provides its passengers with an access to a wide route network and convenient interlining with partner carriers.

The summer schedule will be covered by 82 Aeroflot’s aircrafts. By the end of 2009, the company plans to replenish its fleet with six crafts from the Airbus А330 family and 12 А319/320/321 crafts, which will be put into operation within the summer schedule. The fleet replenishment enables Aeroflot to increase flight frequencies to the most popular destinations and to intensify it cooperation with partners from all over the world.