Aeroflot holds first Public Council meeting of 2018

 Aeroflot’s Public Council today held its first meeting of 2018. The meeting was chaired as is traditionally by Tatiana Tarasova, the legendary Russian and Soviet figure-skating coach. The deputy chairman of the Public Council of Aeroflot is Boris Rybak, CEO of LLC Infomost.com.

The Public Council welcomed the following new members:

Mikhail Delyagin – economist, publicist, presenter of several television and radio programs, holds a PhD in Economics, 2nd class State Councilor of the Russian Federation, editor-in-chief of the Svobodnaya Mysl magazine; 

Nikolay Molibog – CEO of RBC Media Holding, CEO of the RU-CENTER Group;

Alexey Sinitsky – editor-in-chief of the Air Transport Review magazine.

The main item on the agenda was the 95th anniversary of Aeroflot. Aeroflot CEO Vitaly Saveliev talked about the past experiences, successes and achievements of the airline, as well as plans for the future. He stressed that the main task of the leading Russian carrier remains unchanged – to serve the interests of the country and its citizens.

“Throughout its history, Aeroflot has been the face and pride of the state. In 1990, it entered the Guinness Book of Records as the largest airline in the world – that year the number of passengers carried reached 139 million. After the collapse of the USSR, Aeroflot, like the whole country, went through some difficult times. In 1994, passenger traffic fell to 3 million passengers and only grew very slightly. The turning point was 2009: we developed effective anti-crisis measures and over the next nine years managed not only to take the company out of the crisis, but also to create a powerful aviation holding on its basis,” said Vitaly Savelyev, CEO of Aeroflot. “In 2017 Aeroflot, together with its subsidiaries, transported more than 50 million passengers. In terms of passenger traffic, we entered the top 20 largest airline groups in the world by this parameter. Our main achievement for the 95th anniversary is the return to the global elite of civil aviation. Today, Aeroflot is back to its previous position of industry leader, and ahead lay new achievements. A strong Russia needs a strong airline.”    

Another important topic for discussion was the strengthening of control over compliance with the rules of air transportation. Vitaly Saveliev talked about frequent violations and measures to combat them.

Since the beginning of the year, Aeroflot pays special attention to ensuring compliance of hand luggage with company standards. Controls were introduced after passengers began to complain more often about the lack of space for their belongings in the cabin of the aircraft. The airline also enforced stricter compliance with the rules in order to ensure completion of boarding 20 minutes before the time of departure. This was caused by repeated situations in which late arriving passengers delayed Aeroflot flights. The most sensitive topic of discussion was the management of obstructive passengers.  Aeroflot fully leverages its legal ability to prosecute perpetrators, and since early 2018, has introduced its own measures. Now the company deprives passengers of elite status in the Aeroflot Bonus program for a flagrant violation of the rules of conduct on board.

“Today we discussed a very important topic – violation of the rules of transportation. The Public Council fully supports Aeroflot’s initiatives to monitor compliance,” said Tatyana Tarasova. “After all, there are situations when people take on board hand luggage above the norm, and others after them can no longer place their belongings in the cabin. Or a flight is delayed by one or two people. The rest of the passengers are forced to change their plans, and the carrier suffers losses. There are also quite extreme cases, including instances where passengers attack airline employees. We believe that such situations are unacceptable. Disciplined passengers should never suffer from the actions of violators. The majority agrees with our position. We have analyzed passenger feedback, and 76% support Aeroflot’s initiatives to strengthen control.”

The Public Council of Aeroflot is a consultative and advisory body that has been operating since 2014. It helps the company maintain dialogue with society and respond to its requests. Aeroflot’s Public Council includes 24 Board members who work free of charge and rotate on an annual basis. They include representatives of business, media, public organizations, professional associations, culture and sports.