OREANDA-NEWS. Aeroflot struck a balance of its participation in the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi.

As General Partner of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014, the airline has provided an efficient and convenient air travel to the capital of the Olympics and Paralympics. Aeroflot increased the intensity of scheduled services to Sochi - up to 63 flights a week and up to 12 daily flights at peak days. Direct flights were opened from Frankfurt-am-Main to Sochi. Larger capacity aircraft were used on Moscow-Sochi route, including Boeing-777-300ER's. A specially designed onboard menu was offered to our passengers during the Games.

Starting from January, 20 till March, 18, 2014 Aeroflot has made 500 return flights on Moscow-Sochi-Moscow route and carried 133,887 passengers, while 20 return flights have been made on Frankfurt-Sochi-Frankfurt route with 2,915 passengers carried.

Over the years, Aeroflot has been the Official Carrier of the Russian delegation to the Olympics. In 2014, regular and additional Aeroflot flights to Sochi brought over 790 members of the Russian National Team and the official delegation of the Russian Federation, 167 members of the Paralympic sports delegation, as well as their sizeable and fragile special luggage.

During the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi, the airline launched a unique campaign offering economy class tickets on Moscow-Sochi-Moscow route for only 5000 rubles including all taxes and fees.

Aeroflot has implemented a number of hi tech projects within the framework of preparation for the Games. One of them was ensuring regular connection with Sochi and Gelendzhik aerodromes in almost any weather conditions. During the Games, the airline introduced a separate phone number for Sochi travelers and increased the number of phone lines of its call-center. A joint action of the Russian Olympic Committee, Aeroflot and Visa raised 10 million rubles in support of the Russian Olympians. The collected funds were aimed at creating a scientific and methodological center for Olympic training that works on experimental substantiation of innovative technologies in the sphere of sports and develops scientific guidelines for sports training of Russian teams, as well as introduction of mobile stations - minibuses for implementation of new techniques in Sochi.

Aeroflot is proud of its contribution to the organization and the triumph of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Russian medalists were awarded with Aeroflot Bonus Gold Level cards in recognition of their significant achievements.

Aeroflot is Russia's flagship carrier and one of the largest airline groups in Europe. In 2013, its 90th anniversary year, Aeroflot carried 20.9 million passengers (31.4 million passengers as Aeroflot Group including subsidiaries), a record for any Russian airline. A proud member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance, Aeroflot and its partners serve more than 1,000 destinations in 178 countries worldwide. Aeroflot operates one of the most modern and youngest fleets in Europe, numbering 150 Airbus, Boeing and Sukhoi airliners with an average age of 5.6 years. Aeroflot is among the global leaders in aviation safety. The company's European Community Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) Index, which is the main globally recognized safety parameter, is comparable to global peers. The first Russian carrier to enter the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) register, renewing its registration for the fifth time in 2013, Aeroflot has successfully passed the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) and is fully ISO 9001:2008 compliant. In 2013, Aeroflot was named by SKYTRAX as the Best Airline in Eastern Europe for the second time.