Some Markets Remain Open: A Look At Aeroflot's Top International Routes By Seat Availability
The largest airline in Russia has been in operation for over 100 years. Founded in 1923, the airline operates scheduled flights to more than 100 destinations worldwide, using its healthy modern narrowbody and widebody fleet. In 2022, the airline had to significantly cut down on the number of destinations due to sanctions on Russian airlines as a result of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Aeroflot Airlines currently operates scheduled services to a handful of international destinations, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
According to Aeroflot,
“In September 2022, Aeroflot PJSC and United Aircraft Corporation PJSC signed an agreement of intent for the purchase of 339 domestically produced aircraft. Under the agreement, Aeroflot Group will receive 210 MC-21, 89 SJ-100 and 40 Tu-214 aircraft between until 2030.”
With a fleet now fully comprised of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, Aeroflot is doing its best to keep operations going amid sanctions on spare parts.
Despite sanctions at numerous international destinations, Aeroflot keeps some of these routes busy by providing tens of thousands of seats in each direction. Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows that the Russian carrier offered six international routes in July with over 28,000 roundtrip seats. Here are the top three international routes.
Origin | Destination | Number of round-trip flights in July | Number of round-trip seats in July | Available Seat Miles (ASM) in July |
---|---|---|---|---|
Moscow, Russia (SVO) | Antalya, Turkey (AYT) | 383 | 110,628 | 150 million |
Moscow, Russia (SVO) | Istanbul, Turkey (IST) | 372 | 75,492 | 82 million |
Moscow, Russia (SVO) | Yerevan, Armenia (EVN) | 310 | 61,278 | 70 million |
Turkey remains Aeroflot's top international destination, with the two Turkish airports (AYT and IST) receiving the most roundtrip seats from Moscow (SVO). Aeroflot operated 383 flights in July, offering 110,628 roundtrip seats. On a given day in July, the airline operates up to seven flights on the 4 hours 45 minutes route between SVO and AYT.
Aeroflot uses a variety of narrowbody and widebody jets on the route, including Airbus A321neo, A300-300, A350-900, Boeing 737-800, and 777-300ER. Aeroflot competes with Turkish leisure airline Southwind Airlines, which operates multiple flights daily on the corridor.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
The largest and busiest airport in Turkey, IST, sees as many as six rotations a day from Aeroflot. The airline will operate 372 flights in July, offering nearly 76,500 seats. Aeroflot mostly uses its narrowbody Airbus A321 and Boeing 737-800 fleet on the route, with some flights seeing Boeing 777-300ERs. Surprisingly enough, this route has no competition, as Aeroflot is the only airline connecting Moscow SVO to Istanbul (IST).
Despite the sanctions imposed in many parts of the world, leisure travelers from Russia find it easier to travel to Turkey and Armenia, among other places, for vacation.
After signing an LOI with Aeroflot in September 2022, Russia's United Aircraft Corporation is gearing up to start delivering planes this year.
The third international route with the most seats in Yerevan, Armenia, with 310 round-trip flights in July, offering 61,278 seats. Aeroflot has up to five daily flights, so it is another busy flight corridor. Armenian Airlines offers up to two daily flights on this route using its Airbus A321 aircraft. Another Armenian carrier, Shirak Avia, operates a once-daily flight on the route using its Boeing 737-500 fleet.
Photo: aappp | Shutterstock
Origin | Destination | Number of round-trip flights in July | Number of round-trip seats in July | Available Seat Miles (ASM) in July |
---|---|---|---|---|
Moscow, Russia (SVO) | Minsk, Belarus (MSQ) | 372 | 55,436 | 22 million |
Moscow, Russia (SVO) | Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (FRU) | 160 | 29,514 | 55 million |
Moscow, Russia (SVO) | Simal, Azerbaijan (GYD) | 186 | 29,428 | 36 million |
Aeroflot operates 372 roundtrip flights to Minsk, Belarus, offering nearly 30,000 flights. Amounting to 36 million ASM, Aeroflot primarily operates the Airbus A320 fleet on the 90-minute flight in each direction. Bishkek (FRU) and Simal (GYD) also offer nearly 30,000 seats each on the route, making it some of Aeroflot's busiest international flights.
Turkish Airlines took delivery of multiple A350s that were supposed to be delivered to Aeroflot and repainted them.