Demand for flights to and recovering too slow.
the Largest Charter carrier of Russia Air Azur delayed the start of flights. On may 13 he announced the resumption of passenger traffic on 1 June. The company was going to open regular flights to Sochi from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ekaterinburg, Kazan and Ufa. Then she said that the tickets already went on sale.
But the resumption of delayed flights: from Moscow to Sochi, the company will fly only on 15 June and will run one flight a day from other cities with 17 or 18 June to two times a week, follows from the information of the reservation system on the website of the carrier.
Previously, Azur Air flew only abroad and in late March, has suspended flights due pandemic coronavirus.
1 Jun resumes flights Nordwind, which suspended passenger transportation in April. Today the company performs flights from Moscow to Simferopol and back. But in Sochi from the capital Nordwind will fly only on 3 June and the first week of summer will perform on the main Russian resort has only three flights from the capital, described in the section of reservation on the airline website. Flights to Sochi will be the daily only in the second week, and from 15 June sales are conducted on two flights daily. Earlier flights were planned on a daily basis from the first day of summer.
Flights on other black sea resorts of Russia — Anapa and Gelendzhik from Moscow, St. Petersburg and several other major cities Nordwind will begin only from June 15. Although in mid-may, sales were on the flight Anapa and Gelendzhik from the beginning of the summer. “The launch of flights to Anapa and Gelendzhik deferred due low demand in the early summer,” says a person close to Nordwind.
“Nordwind begins this week, the main program of flights to holiday destinations in Sochi and Simferopol. The launch of flights to Anapa and Gelendzhik postponed until June 15,” — said the representative of the company.
Significantly reduced the number of flights in the Krasnodar region and “Aeroflot”. June 1, the airline from Moscow to Sochi is scheduled for five flights in the following days three four flight to information on its website. But in mid-may, sales were at 10 daily flights in June. The situation is similar with other resorts in Anapa “Aeroflot” will fly three times a day, although in mid-may was in sales for five daily flights. In Gelendzhik has only one daily flight out of three. Other flights reduced due lack of demand, said a person close to the group of “Aeroflot”. Only in Simferopol, the company has maintained all scheduled flights to 12 per day.
the government has sent requests to the representative of “Aeroflot”. But we know that the company offers passengers markanenih to fly other flights on the same day or in the coming days. “Vedomosti” has requested representatives of Nordwind and Air Azur, how many tickets sold for the cancelled flights and that companies offer to their passengers.
the Airline had hoped that the summer starts to recover the demand at least for domestic flights, especially to the resorts. Therefore, at the beginning of June and planned to resume Azur Air, Nordwind and “Victory”. The largest scheduled airlines — Aeroflot, S7, Ural airlines and Utair — significantly reduced the price of that departure in June compared with the price in may. “Winning” the first three flights were completed on may 31, scheduled flights to Sochi and Anapa it not been canceled, to information on the company’s website.
But the demand in the early summer on domestic flights, including in the city of Krasnodar Krai, the bad, the employees of two major airlines. Including the fact that regional authorities have extended until June 6, the mandatory 14-day quarantine for arriving from other regions. Some of the flights to the resorts of the region will have to cancel, believe interlocutors of “Vedomosti”.
transport only developed the draft government decree that would allow the airlines to compensate for cancelled flight voucher, without refund. But Russian airlines due almost complete stop of sales of money for refunds and no, they are in April stopped to return the money and offered passengers vouchers for future flights.
For cancelled flights under the Civil code, the company must return 100% of the cost of tickets, explains the Chairman of the public organization “Union of passengers” Kirill Yankov.
“the announcement of the start of operations, the launch and subsequent flight cancellations do not paint the airline — says Yankov. — It looks like an attempt to lure passengers money.”
Returning airlines try to lure passengers with low prices: for example, Air Azur flights from Moscow to Sochi costs from 1900 RUB., at Nordwind — from 2100 RUB. It’s cheaper than all the major airlines — Aeroflot, S7, Ural airlines and Utair. Lower prices only “Victory” from 999 rubles per one-way ticket.
the Other big players were selling on a small number of flights to holiday destinations. For example, S7 in June is scheduled for two-three daily flights from Moscow to Sochi, the “Ural airlines” Utair, and — on one-two.
Alexander Vorobiev
