Although the 2018 Fifa World Cup comes at a time of gradual decline for Russia's aviation sector, the country is embarking on a strategy to up its infrastructure game and revamp many of its airports over the next decade.
Routesonline speaks to Giorgio Callegari, Aeroflot's deputy chief executive for strategy and alliances, to hear about what is driving the group's growth and find out about its future ambitions.
The oneworld alliance member has an agreement with GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) to lease 17 Embraer E170 pre-owned jets, a contract that has enabled the manufacturer to fast-track deliveries without impacting its order backlog. The first of these aircraft, former Republic Airways examples, are starting to appear from airport paintshops in the airline’s instantly recognisable green livery and all 17 units are due to arrive before the end of this year.
The reciprocal bans have the potential to hit both nations' already struggling economies, reroute flights across a large part of Europe and lead to further economic disentanglement between the neighbouring states. Latest data from the World Bank's shows Ukraine's real GDP was expected to fall by over 7 per cent, making Russia and Ukraine the world's two worst-growing economies.
Low-cost Russian airline, Pobeda has banned passengers from chewing gum on board because it is spending too much scraping it off its airplanes interiors.
