Rossiya Airlines, Aeroflot Group’s Newly Merged Regional Carrier, Begins Flights

Rossiya Airlines, Aeroflot Group’s newly merged regional carrier, announces it has commenced flights. The new Rossiya’s first flight was completed on 27 March, marking the beginning of the Spring-Summer 2016 Season. This season Rossiya will fly to a total of 81 destinations, including 54 domestic destinations in addition to international destinations across 15 countries.

The new Rossiya is the result of consolidation of Aeroflot Group’s three regional airlines: Rossiya, Donavia and Orenair.

Rossiya’s home base remains St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport, with branches in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and Orenburg. The airline will operate 47 regularly-scheduled routes from St. Petersburg to domestic and international destinations. Rossiya will fly to Baku, Azerbaijan (three times per week) and Rimini, Italy (two times per week). Among other new regular flights are direct St. Petersburg-Orenburg flights (three times per week).

Rossiya will fly from Moscow Vnukovo airport, Adler, Krasnodar, Orenburg, Simferopol and Rostov-on-Don.

Rossiya’s flights from Vnukovo are intended to complement service offered by the Group’s flagship carrier, Aeroflot — Russian Airlines. In Spring-Summer 2016 Rossiya will fly from Vnukovo to domestic destinations Adler, Anapa, Krasnodar, Makhachkala, Mineralnye Vody, Orenburg, Rostov-on-Don and Simferopol as well as to Paris and Nice, France. Rossiya plans to additionally begin offering service mid-season from Vnukovo to a number of destinations in Russia’s Far East: Khabarovsk, Magadan, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka, Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Rossiya will fly from Simferopol to 14 of Russia’s largest regional cities: Chelyabinsk, Ekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Tyumen, Ufa and Volgograd. Additionally, Rossiya plans to fly between St. Petersburg and Simferopol 28 times per week, twice as often as in Spring-Summer 2015.

Additionally, Rossiya will fly between Krasnodar and Ekaterinburg, between Orenburg and Adler, between Orenburg and Anapa, as well as between Adler and Yerevan, Armenia and between Rostov-on-Don and Tel Aviv, Israel.

Vadim Zingman, Rossiya Airlines Chairman of the Board of Directors, said:

«The formation of a major new airline within Aeroflot Group is a strategic initiative of national importance. Rossiya’s key aims include returning the Russian aviation sector to health, applying the best practices developed by Aeroflot to the broader industry and maintaining uniquely qualified personnel across several regions of the country. Given the highly professional team and the experience of Aeroflot Group, I believe Rossiya is ready to takes its success to the next level.»