COMMERCIAL AEROFLOT
I
n the first six months of 2017,
the Aeroflot Group grew by
16.6% and carried nearly 23
million passengers. Aeroflot
Russian Airlines itself, the biggest
airline within the group, posted
equally impressive 13.5% growth and
carried over 15 million customers.
Such a growth rate puts Aeroflot
among the fastest-growing big airlines in
Europe, on a par with Ryanair and Lufthansa
Group. However, while Ryanair’s growth has
long been fuelled by new aircraft deliveries
and Lufthansa’s is an outcome of taking
over Brussels Airlines, the Russian carrier’s
growth in the region is surprising to many.
Russian GDP shrunk by 3.7% in 2015
and by a further 0.2% in 2016. While the
forecasts for 2017 are above zero, the
growth rate is not expected to exceed
2%. With such a weak economy, it would
be reasonable to expect tough times for
the airline, too; it is universally accepted
air traffic growth and GDP are closely
correlated.
Air traffic at Moscow area airports declined
in 2016 by 1.9% and in the whole country by
4.1%, according to the Russian Federal Air
Transport Agency, but Aeroflot, the biggest
air carrier in Russia, seems to defy this data.
In 2016 its traffic grew by 10.3%, and it looks
as though it even benefits from the tough
market circumstances.
Dominik Sipinski
outlines how despite
tough geopolitics and
a weak Russian ruble,
a convenient hub and a
strong domestic market
are helping Aeroflot
Russian Airlines
A Time of Growth
The introduction of more modern aircraft, such as this Sukhoi SSJ-100-95B Superjet RA-89058 (c/n 95098), and
the retirements of Soviet-era aircraft has enabled Aeroflot Russian Airlines to reduce its average fleet age to around
4.2 years. More SSJ-100s, Irkut MC-21s, Airbus A350-900s and more Boeing 777-300ERs are all due to enter
service in the coming years. Alex Snow/AirTeamImages