Aeroflot has exhausted subsidies for low-cost airline tickets to the Far East and Crimea

The termination of sales of discounted tickets to the Crimea, Kaliningrad and the Far East was explained by the airline by the exhaustion of funds allocated by the state for subsidies.
17.10.2018
RBC
Origin source
Aeroflot airline has stopped selling air tickets at subsidized fares for its own flights and for flights of the subsidiary Rossiya and Aurora airlines to cities in the Far East, as well as Simferopol and Kaliningrad. This is stated in a letter sent out by the sales department of Aeroflot to the agents of the airline, its representative offices and branches (available at RBC).

The termination of sales is explained by the “full utilization of funds allocated from the state budget for the payment of subsidies.”

The airline's message emphasizes that for reservations created before October 16, 2018, the issuance of air tickets will be possible before the expiry of the established fare rules. The service OneTwoTrip confirmed receipt of a letter from the airline.

Sale of discount tickets in the Crimea, Kaliningrad and the Far East (Khabarovsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Magadan, Vladivostok and Yakutsk) "Aeroflot" opened on March 29, 2018. Such tickets could be purchased at discounted prices (for example, a ticket from Moscow to Vladivostok could be bought for 7400 rubles, and to Kaliningrad for 3800 rubles) could be citizens of Russia under the age of 23 and over 60 years (for women over 55 years), disabled people of group I, disabled since childhood, groups II and III, accompanying a disabled person of group I or a disabled child.

According to the Rosaviatsia, at the end of March, the size of state subsidies allocated under these programs until December 1 will amount to 3.8 billion rubles. Seven companies received subsidies for transportation to Simferopol and the Far East, and six from Kaliningrad.

Sales of subsidized tickets to the Far East started on March 29, but they had to be suspended after six days - the subsidies were completely exhausted. Sales resumed only four months later, in mid-August.

In September, the company transferred part of its Far Eastern flights to Russia. As the general director of Aeroflot, Vitaly Savelyev, explained, this was done to prevent tickets from going up. Otherwise, due to the growth of prices for kerosene and the weakening of the ruble, the company would have to choose between reducing the number of flights or raising prices, while the “Russia” cost of flights is less, explained Savelyev.

In addition to subsidized tariffs, Aeroflot and Russia have a “flat” tariff program since 2015 - the price of the ticket remains fixed regardless of the season and date. Last year, tickets at such rates purchased more than 1.5 million people, the airline said.

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