Keter

Agree!

SkiAdcock

It wasn't meant to be; sorry you took it that way. Guess you missed the after my comment, which was meant to be kidding.

Now - back on-topic re: trying to sort out the name.

Cheers.

travelkid

I have tried to PM some of the SU veterans from previous years, but it seems several basically left FT.

But also its better to have a forum with a non perfect name, than wait much longer to hopefully find a name that still is not perfect. A name can also be changed when more users start frequenting the forum.

Xyzzy

I think this is an excellent idea. I think the term "Former USSR" is better than "CIS" as it better explains which airlines (I think) belng. Perhaps additional discussion of which airlines belong would be good? That would likely drive the description. I envision the forum covering all of the former-Soviet republics so I think a title such as the following would be good:

Aeroflot, S7, and the airlines of the former USSR

azepine00

If we decide to include all fmr ussr airlines it would make sense to have a sticky and list them all so anyone searching would be able to find this forum.

As for early comments on limited posts - first many use SU instead of aeroflot, second often people post in partner forums (su in skyteam, transaero in bd and so on) plus often people give up without finding an appropriate forum. So yes we definitely need airlines of russia forum. I think the dominating majority will be russia based given two major alliance members with worldwide presence and a bunch of unaffiliated ones.
So i wouldn' worry too much about how we define the rest - if we really want to add them from the beginning "and former cis" would be my call but this always be adjusted later. Dont overthink this.

Xyzzy

S would "Airlines of Russia and the former USSR/Soviet Union" (pick one of those) be acceptable?

apoivre

Fine by me


(Although then we'll have to include Estonian Air and Air Baltic - not sure if their patrons will appreciate)

Pteropous

Politics aside, from the practical point of view, including the airlines of the Baltic States in the 'Former SU' forum might not be such a luminous idea. The present day countries strongly identify themselves with Western Europe (they are part of the EU). At least to an European reader, looking for them at a 'Russia etc. airlines' forum might not even cross one's mind. Soviet Union has not existed for 20 years, and there's a young generation among which many probably don't even know that Baltics were once part of the SU (if they know what the SU was in the first place...) [Perhaps that's the reason nobody has commented on this before; it might not have occurred to a person interested in OV or BT that this proposal could concern them.]

luitje

Hope getting a PM from you doesn't peg me as a veteran, does it (what does FT policy says on ageism, btw? )

Frankly, I am not quite convinced creating a new geography would make any good to FT (sorry, travelkid). I would expect a lot of confusion as few now remember Romania and Mongolia have never been part of the USSR while Moldova and Tajikistan were. Take my word for it, you will see couple of Tarom and LOT discussions landing in the new forum and Aerosvit and Air Moldova in "Other European".

I could see a value in dedicated airline forum, but why the likes of "Airlines of India" is beyond me, sorry.

travelkid

As there is no forum for other western Europe carriers, we are left with leaving Baltic carriers as it is now (Other European), or include it in Russia+, whatever the wording.

There are huge Russian minorities in all the Baltic countries, and lots of trade. Those carriers should be placed where questions are most likely to be answered. Im pretty certain that will be with Russia.

But how about acknowledging the Baltic states by saying "airlines of Russia and ex-USSR incl the Baltic".

Alternatively adress this in the description.

travelkid

There will be some confusion, as is the norm on all FT forums. Point is to decrease the confusion, and let the mods deal with whatever confusion is left@:-)

Xyzzy

T be honest, I was wondering this as well, particularly that the SU has been gone for a long time. I'm glad someone else brought that up. Perhaps "Airlines of Russia" would be the best, leaving the issue of non-Russian, but related airlines to be sorted out ad-hoc.

Pteropous

I cannot say I'd have any better insight on this than you, but I have great difficulty seeing how this would be true. Just look at the actual trade statistics (only for Lithuania could one say that Russia is a particularly important partner compared to eg the other Baltic States, Germany, Sweden, and Finland), and the route networks of AirBaltic and Estonian Air.

And my real point was that making geographical fora based on historical rather than present day boarders is a slippery slope... Shall we also propose dividing the "Other European" into "Airlines of the former Ottoman Empire" and "Airlines of the former Austria-Hungary"? I'd personally find that highly entertaining, but I doubt this would help the general public to find the right forum...

travelkid

I agree, using historical terms might look awkward.

Lets settle for the easy; airlines of Russia. That will mean Aeroflot, S7 and Transaero, which will give the most volume.

Leave it to the posters/market to decide where they want to go with the others (1. other European, 2. other Asian or 3. Russia). This will regulate itself with the help of mods.

goalie

The former works for me as it's KISS (and besides, if anyone doesn't know that the former USSR/Soviet Union = Russia, they have been living either in a gulag or under a rock )