Exactly one year ago, S7 Airlines, together with the Association of Aviation Medicine Physicians (AVAM), launched the first “Doctors on board” program in Russia for medical workers who travel. Members of the program who choose S7 Airlines flights receive additional privileges.

The Doctors on Board program was warmly received by the professional community and quickly grew in popularity. At the moment, 24,590 medical workers are registered for it, and this number is constantly growing. 66% of them have already flown as program participants or plan to do so soon.

One of the goals at the launch of the program was to ensure an even higher level of safety for S7 Airlines passengers. One out of every three flights of the airline now has a doctor participating in the program.

For some popular destinations, this rate is even higher and also continues to grow. Thus, for example, in June 2021, medical workers flew on 69% of Novosibirsk-St. Petersburg flights. On the Moscow-Novosibirsk route, flights with doctors on board comprised 57% of the indicated period. On the Moscow to St. Petersburg route, the share of such flights reached 56%. On the Novosibirsk-Sochi segment, there was a “Doctors on board” participant on every second flight in June 2021.

Remarkably, among the registered participants, the majority are medical workers who, when registering for the program, noted anesthesiology-resuscitation (1823), therapy (1651), and nursing (1359) as their specialization.

Members of the “Doctors on board” program receive a 10% discount off the fare for all of S7 Airlines own flights, 20% extra miles for each flight, the opportunity to choose a seat in the cabin for free, carry one extra piece of baggage on top of their allowance, and priority airport check-in at business class counters. Additional bonuses include 5000 welcome miles for registering in the program and 1000 miles for completing educational courses with AVAM. Still, the decision to provide medical assistance on board always remains with the doctor, with access to privileges not depending on this decision.

In the year since the launch of the “Doctors on board” program, S7 Airlines, as a token of its gratitude to health workers for their work, opened recreational areas for them in the Novosibirsk Regional Clinical Hospital and the Irkutsk Regional Clinical Hospital of the Order of the “Badge of honor”.

“We always take care of the staff of our clinic and try to create comfortable conditions both for work and for rest. This has been especially important in the past year and a half: for doctors and nurses who work in the red zone while wearing protective suits for 4-6 hours, it is vitally important to be able to relax for a while in a pleasant atmosphere. It’s great that there are partners who are ready to help — not in words, but in deeds. The resting room that S7 Airlines has equipped for the employees of the regional hospital is a convincing example of real help. The relaxation area turned out to be very cozy and comfortable. Also important, its design is fully in harmony with the style of a large modern clinic, » — so says Anatoly Yudanov, chief physician of the Novosibirsk Regional Clinical Hospital.

“The reassignment of our hospital as one of the largest covid hospitals in the Irkutsk region was not easy for the staff members: the round-the-clock preparation of our departments to receive patients and hard work in the ‘red zone’ certainly affect the mental state of our doctors. Switching off and recuperating requires a separate space that is cozy and versatile. Our recreational area is exactly like this now: the bright interior will cheer you up, you can relax with a cup of tea or cheer up with a game of air hockey or foosball. The new recreational area evoked the most pleasant emotions among the hospital staff and is already popular!” — shared Pyotr Dudin, the chief physician of the Irkutsk Regional Clinical Hospital of the Order of the “Badge of honor”.

Earlier, S7 Airlines opened the first such recreational area for doctors at city clinical hospital No. 40 in Kommunarka in December 2020.