According to the Russian economic daily Vedomosti ( http://www.vedomosti.ru/ ) Aeroflot plans to absorb Pulkovo, Rossija, Dalavia, KrasAir and VladivostokAvia with Kreml backing. Happy days are here again! :D

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/business/article_1135141.php/Aeroflot_moves_to_absorb_Russian_rivals

Not sure what it will mean for the Russian consumer, but it will sure be good for SkyTeam members if Aeroflot does in fact join (unless these other airlines are not absorbed into Aeroflot and continue as separate operations). I always liked Pulkovo, especially the caviar and salmon on the short hop from SVO to LED.

In Russia, there's not a great deal of competition for airfares because the only people who can afford to travel by air are "New Russians". I don't know if you guys have heard of this but many would be elites don't ever bother with FF programs because they're above free tickets.

Besides, if I was to go to Russia I'd go by train get a "coupe" which you can lock and enjoy the scenery. But I'm not a business traveler. Just love going back home.

The Moscow Times take on the story...

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/03/09/041.html

If / when this goes through - which airlines in Russia would be in a posisiton to join either Star or oneworld? Is Transaero an option? Would Sibir be out of contention due to its partial ownership by Aeroflot?

In Russia, there's not a great deal of competition for airfares because the only people who can afford to travel by air are "New Russians".

Yeah, right. Now we know who the New Russians are. There should be quite a lot of them, BTW (see statictics on air-travel growth in Russia, say, here (http://www.amadeus.com/x5988)).

I don't know if you guys have heard of this but many would be elites don't ever bother with FF programs because they're above free tickets.

If you read Russian you might want to check the forum at www.aeroflotbonus.ru. Lots of "New Russians" over there don't seem to be above free tickets. Some could even be bothered to complain about some paltry 500 miles or so.

In Russia, there's not a great deal of competition for airfares because the only people who can afford to travel by air are "New Russians".
That's not true at all. The middle class is small by European standards but air fares are not very expensive and if you have to travel somewhere, they're a damn site quicker than the train.

The Moscow Times take on the story...

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/03/09/041.html


Sadly can't read it as it is subscription only.

Here is the same story, reprinted St. Petersburg Times - no registration needed:

http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=16965

Looks like Putin is hell-bent on going back to the Soviet days, putting all the industries back under government control. Haven't we learned yet that central planning just doesn't work!


Sadly can't read it as it is subscription only.

Spasibo, yevlesh2!