Columbusite777

http://airlineroute.net/2012/06/14/su-mxp-feb13/

http://airlineroute.net/2012/05/29/su-77w-w12/

SU (Aeroflot) will launch B777 service to BKK, HKT, and...MXP (!!!) from February 2013.

Very excited to see pictures of this lovely plane in SU colors.

woody125

Kinda surprised but actually glad the 777s won't appear on domestic routes. Use this bird internationally and raise the bar a bit for what others think of you. Get working AVOD in all seats and you'll set yourself above whatever else is flying to Milan for sure.

Nice work SU!

Temedar

B777 on SVO-MXP is kinda weird.. crew adaptation for new aircraft type, perhaps? When SU got their first A330 it flew on regular SVO-LED route several times.

toyotaboy95

Not that uncommon. Most airlines usually 'test' their new longhaul birds with a few short runs here and there (or maybe this might be to maximise flying time).

jimyvr

It's "weird" and "uncommon" due to the choice of destination.

mecabq

Does seem like an interesting choice. Perhaps MXP is a more significant SkyTeam transfer hub (and thus more valuable for a competitive product) than other destinations? Though you'd think that CDG or AMS or CAN would be more important, especially since MXP is not as much of a hub as it used to be.

terminalfive

Longhaul AZ only fly to MIA - JFK and NRT
AF don't even serve MXP any more so not much of a hub

Most AZ domestic from MIL goes ex LIN

jimyvr

Additional 777-300ER routes rolled out....Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, New York JFK, Hong Kong, Seoul Incheon. Scheduled on/after 31MAR13 (progressively).

petru26

will these birds be equipped with the same biz-seats as the 330?

jimyvr

Can't tell, they didn't even load the seat maps.

joer1212

This is nothing but bad news. Why? Because Aeroflot has decided that it is perfectly acceptable to wedge a 3-4-3 seating configuration on their 777's in economy class, following the precedent set by Emirates and Air France. This will make a long-haul flight unbearable.
Of course, Aeroflot is tripping all over themselves to create the most over-the-top premium cabins, at the expense of their economy-class customers.
A 3-4-3 config is only acceptable on the A380 and 747, which are wide enough to comfortably accommodate this many seats abreast. On narrower aircraft it is a cramped and claustrophobic nightmare.
It's funny how things quickly change. Now, the a330, which I always thought felt cramped, is the superior aircraft over the 777 for comfort. You can't squeeze more seats on an a330 than the standard 2-4-2, but you can squeeze more seats on the triple-seven than the standard 3-3-3.
What irritates me the most, and confounds me beyond anything, is how members of this site (who should be savvy and discriminating) seem totally oblivious to this glaring problem. To the contrary, they will often argue tooth and nail with you-- against their own interests-- and side with the airlines. What's even worse is that their reaction is positively enthusiastic when yet another airline sets yet another nasty precedent that makes flying long-haul a nightmare for all but the premium cabin passenger. But, as long as they have their AVOD or a jack to plug in their laptops they are happy.

orbitmic

I think it simply reflects the demographics of FT which has an unusually high proportion of people who tend to fly J. If you tend to fly J or W, then the 77W is definitely good for you because you get fully flat in the former and a rather above-average 2-2-2 configuration, and a nice new W cabin too. If you fly Y, then indeed, this is bad news although it does indeed follow an increasingly general trend in the industry on Y seating on the 777 (EK, CZ, AF, KL, AZ, etc). I fear that sadly, beyond the specific case of the 777, and even more general industry trend is to pack as many Y pax as possible to 'pay' for the extra comfort of J pax who bring in most of the cash on a flight. Look at the seat maps of the BA 787 which is meant to be a 2-4-2 cabin but is crammed as a 3-3-3 instead while narrower than the 777. Essentially, flying a Y passenger nowadays is durably more expensive than it was when petrol prices were low and prices cannot be increased too much because of competition while they were already offering marginal to no benefit. In J, things are a bit different because the increased petrol cost is proportionally less influential and because even though fares can't be increased much either, they were actually offering a comfortable benefit margin to start with. Finally, there is a risk in the current context that people flying J could downgrade to W or Y to save money while people flying Y can't downgrade further (in other words, a Y pax makes two decisions: (1) do I fly at all, (2) with which airline, while a J pax makes three decisions: (1) do I fly at all, (2) with which airline, (3) do I really need/want J?) so differentiating makes it less likely for airlines that the pax will downgrade and even encourage the wealthier Y flyers to upgrade to W if they can, W being the other synchrone change in the industry.

joer1212

I warned everyone about this when the 787 was in development, and dreamy mock-ups of its cabin showcased a lovely layout of spacious seats and aisles. I told everyone that once the aviation hacks and bean counters at the airlines get a hold of this aircraft, it will turn to crap. I was right.

Temedar

SU B777 is NOT going into service on Februray 1 due to delays with paperwork in Russian authorities; replacement aircraft would be A330 or B767. Passengers with Comfort class (Y+) tickets will be upgraded to Business class free of charge.

volerbleu

I thought there was an agreement between Russia and the US to simplify certification...

I doubt SU would try to launch a new flagship aircraft without doing the right paperwork...

Hope they sort this out quickly as I have booked a flight on the 777-300ER...