Air transport The transformation of Russian Aeroflot into a quality airline has taken years and billions – Now the work is done in an instant

Russian Aeroflot was once created as the national airline of the Soviet Union.

Over the past two decades, it has been revamped with billions of dollars, and the Soviet-era company, which had grim food and uncomfortable seats, has become an award-winning airline flying around the world with new planes, describes The Wall Street Journal.

However, when Russia invaded Ukraine more than two weeks ago, everything changed.

Now the fruits of the airline’s renovation work seem to be wasted in an instant.

Russian Since launching its attack, Western countries have closed their airspace to Aeroflot and other Russian companies. CEO of the company Mikhail Polubojarinov has been added to the sanctions list. International sanctions have led Western companies that leased aircraft to Aeroflot to seek back their aircraft.

In practice, sanctions have blocked most of Aeroflot’s international flights.

In response to the sanctions, Russia is nationalizing aircraft leased abroad by Aeroflot and its other airlines.

However, it is unclear how long planes can fly safely.

Due to the sanctions, the Boeings and Airbuses used by Aeroflot do not receive spare parts from the machine manufacturers and their suppliers. There is a risk that the machines will not be serviced according to the manufacturers’ maintenance schedules or with approved or new parts.

After suffering for more than a week of cancellations and after avoiding seizures at foreign airports, Aeroflot favorably canceled all international flights last weekend except for flights to Belarus.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may have destroyed Aeroflot’s reputation as an international airline for a long time.

Even if the war ended and flight restrictions were lifted at some point, the company would continue to suffer the reputation damage caused by the attack, says an aviation consultant interviewed by The Wall Street Journal. John Strickland.

“Their [Aeroflotin] their destiny is to marry what is happening politically, ”Strickland said.

Coronary pandemic Aeroflot has been considered a reliable customer by rental companies due to strong domestic demand in Russia.

Last summer, Russian flight capacity was more than half that of 2019 before the pandemic.

Now, however, the risks associated with Russia have become a reality for leasing companies.

Soviet Union after the collapse, the then Aeroflot was split into smaller companies, and the company, which specializes in international traffic, retained its original name.

At the beginning of the 2000s, the company began to be reformed. The uniforms were changed, the menus were rebuilt, and new Boeing and Airbus aircraft were purchased to replace the old Soviet-era aircraft. The benches also became more comfortable.

In 2019, Aeroflot received a four-star airline comparator from Skytrax. Finnair, Air France and British Airways, for example, have received the same rating.

Admittedly, Aeroflot has not been at the forefront of airline safety comparisons.

Comparator company Jacdecin on the list for 2021 Aeroflot is the 90th safest airline in the world, ranked between Russian Ural Airlines and Turkish Pegasus Airlines.

Russian the state still owns the majority of Aeroflot.

When the company’s international flights were canceled, the president Vladimir Putin recorded the same day to visit the Aeroflot Flight Crew Training Center.

Putin posed in the pictures with flight attendants dressed in red uniforms from Aeroflot. The Russian leader even seemed to have given up the long safety distances he has stubbornly adhered to during the Korona era.