As you know, across the vast territory of Russia it is very difficult to travel by train or car. If in Europe you can rent a car and go to any neighboring country or drive around the entire European Union, then in Russia even a trip to a neighboring city can take a lot of time and effort. That is why air transportation for Russia plays a colossal role. In this article, we will try to highlight the best airlines in Russia.
Aeroflot
The famous Russian airline "Aeroflot" was founded back in 1923. Today it produces about 11% of all air traffic within Russia and about 40% of international flights. The numbers are really amazing! Even Russia's other best airlines are unlikely to compare with Aeroflot, which is trusted by millions of people.
This company makes, perhaps, air transportation to almost all corners of our big world. Planes fly to the CIS countries, to Asia, North and South America. Since February 2012Aeroflot has become even more popular in Russia.
Siberia
The best airlines in Russia include one of the most progressive Russian lines called "Siberia". The airline was founded in 1957, and also has bases at three airports: Moscow's Domodedovo, Novosibirsk's Tolmachevo, and Irkutsk airport. To date, passenger transportation by this air carrier is carried out both within Russia and abroad. The company has about 130 destinations in 29 countries. The best airlines in Russia made room when Siberia began to gain popularity. Today she is fighting for the leader's place with the airline "Aeroflot".
The most popular destinations are the following cities: Dubai, Istanbul, Bangkok, Dusseldorf, Munich, and Tel Aviv. In 2011, this airline had a big breakthrough - they made about 60,000 flights per year.
Ural Airlines
Two decades ago, the best airlines in Russia made room because the famous Ural Airlines opened. Today the headquarters of this company is located in Yekaterinburg. Her work is focused on charter air travel, as well as regular domestic and, of course, international flights.
From the very beginning of the company "Ural Airlines" itsthe head, owner and director is the famous pilot of the 1st class, Honored Worker of the Russian Federation Sergey Skuratov, who was also awarded the Order of Honor. In mid-September, this company was included in the sanctions list of Ukraine.
The best airlines in Russia realized that Ural Airlines is a serious competitor, despite being quite young compared to them. The company's plane took off its first millionth passenger in 2006, after which its business went like clockwork. The breakthrough for Ural Airlines occurred between 2011 and 2012, when the number of customers exceeded 40%. What is the best airline in Russia? Someone might say that this is a young, but already mega-popular Russian company. And he will be absolutely right.
Besides this, Ural Airlines has many agreements with the most reliable and rated foreign airlines. Among them are the Czech giant Czech Airlines, and the Dubai-based Emirates, which has been at the top of international ratings for many years.
The airline's fleet consists entirely of new aircraft, and a total of 35 (as of 2015).
Company "Yamal"
The top of the best airlines in Russia was replenished in 1997, when the Yamal transport company began to operate. Of course, so far it is not as popular as others, but it is gaining momentum very quickly.
"Yamal" is a full-fledged Russian carrier, performscharter and regular flights across Russia and to some foreign cities. The main airports where Yamal planes arrive are Moscow's Domodedovo Airport, Roschino in Tyumen and Salekhard. The largest owner of this airline (it owns about 97% of all shares of the company) is the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
In 2008, the Yamal company made a breakthrough - its aircraft began flying to Geneva (Switzerland), Salzburg (Austria), Burgas (Bulgaria), Pardubice (Czech Republic), and also to Plovdiv (Bulgaria). However, despite all the successes, Yamal was not included in the best Russian airlines in terms of safety.
UTair
UTair was founded back in 1934, but began operating only in 1991. It is characterized by the fact that it has a huge, largest helicopter fleet in Russia. This fleet operates not only in Russia, but also in various countries abroad. UTair Aviation ranks second in terms of passenger turnover after Aeroflot. For example, for the whole of 2015, she was lucky to carry almost 9 million people, which is a huge figure for Russian airlines.
Headquartered in Tyumen.
"UTair" has a fleet - helicopter and aircraft. The airline's aircraft fleet is very rich - it owns 63 aircraft (as of the beginning of 2016). However, earlier the company had much more aircraft. In 2014, the company was in a critical situation, it lacked finances. Helicopter fleetUTair consists of 340 pieces of equipment, including the largest cargo-lifting helicopters, which are capable of transporting about 20 tons at a time.
Kuban
Kuban Airlines is not very large, it has only 6 aircraft in its arsenal. But due to the fact that they monitor the safety and quality of the flights, the company was included in the list of the best airlines in Russia. Despite huge incomes, in 2012 its owners declared bankruptcy and closed Kuban. Strange, but it is still included in the rating of the best airlines in Russia.
It is extremely difficult to judge which airline is better in Russia if you have not used the services of each of them. However, the choice is always made by people who use the services of different airlines. Today, Russian airlines lag behind in terms of service quality, but still, the best Russian airlines are developing rapidly and always offer customers something new.
