Aeroflot is taking unprecedented measures to preserve transport accessibility to the Russian Far East in response to the recent ticket deficit. The airline is now operating widebody Boeing 777s on routes from Moscow to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Vladivostok, providing an extra 100 seats per day. Three more 777s, each of which can carry up to 1,200 people, will be brought in from 15 December.

The price for economy tickets from Moscow to Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy will remain unchanged within Aeroflot’s flat rate until 31 December 2105: RUB 18,000 return, RUB 11,000 one way, including taxes and fees.

Aeroflot introduced its flat rate program to increase social mobility and access to the Far East in April 2015. As a result, the number of passengers on Aeroflot flights to, from and within the Far Eastern Federal District in the past eight months has increased by 10.7% year-on-year. The number of flights has increased by 23.8%.

«The Far East is a particularly sensitive region from the point of view of accessibility, as flying is really the only practical option. To solve the problem of a shortage of plane tickets, we have organised additional flights and brought in more capacious planes for the busiest routes. We expect the situation to normalise in the coming weeks, and ask for passengers’ understanding in regard to these temporary difficulties,» Aeroflot CEO Vitaliy Saveliev said.