President of Russia Vladimir Putin: How are you?
Aeroflot CEO Sergei Aleksandrovsky: We have good yearend results, I would say. The year has been successful. Mr President, I would like to briefly report on Aeroflot Group’s performance.
Vladimir Putin: The company is 73.77 percent state-owned.
Sergei Aleksandrovsky: Yes, that's right. The state holds 73.7 percent.
Vladimir Putin: Go ahead, please.
Sergei Aleksandrovsky: Aeroflot Group includes three airlines. One of them is Aeroflot, the long-established carrier with a fleet of 171 aircraft, which provides a high level of service to passengers. By the end of 2023, we will have carried 25 million passengers.
Vladimir Putin: The group includes nine companies, doesn’t it?
Sergei Aleksandrovsky: There are nine companies, yes, but only three of them are airlines. Rossiya is the largest operator of Russian aircraft. Its fleet consists of 136 aircraft, of which 78 are Sukhoi Superjets; its passenger traffic in 2023 was 9 million. And the third one is Pobeda, our efficient low-cost airline, with 41 aircraft and 13 million passengers.
In 2023, the total number of passengers served by Aeroflot Group will reach 47 million, up 15 percent on the previous year’s level.
In addition, we reached an all-time high in terms of aircraft load factor, which is 87.1 percent. This is a very high figure for Aeroflot Group and a significant achievement for the industry as a whole.
We continue to maintain leadership in the Russian air services market. Our market share has increased to 44.9 percent compared to last year, up 2.2 percentage points.
Another important factor for passengers is punctuality. Aeroflot remains one of the world’s top five airlines. Even though it has been removed from all official rankings, we continue to compare our performance to other airlines and keep leading positions in this area.
Vladimir Putin: It is important to uphold quality standards.
Sergei Aleksandrovsky: Yes, of course. No matter what, we strive to maintain performance standards in our sector and remain in good shape.
Vladimir Putin: By and large, you are succeeding. Customer feedback is very positive.
Sergei Aleksandrovsky: Thank you, Mr President.
Vladimir Putin: It is all thanks to you. This is what the passengers say, and you must continue to uphold the standards.
Sergei Aleksandrovsky: We are doing our best, and we owe a lot to our large staff. They are dedicated to ensuring passengers’ satisfaction.
In addition, we have also significantly improved productivity, by 40 percent compared to last year. This is a result of increasing the scope of work and streamlining internal processes. It is also a major achievement.
As for domestic flights, we have increased our share on the domestic market by 6 percentage points to 37.5 million passengers.
I would like to mention the leading regions, which are indicative of business activity, tourism and, of course, the work of regional leaders who are doing their utmost to enhance their regions’ attractiveness. The leader in this sphere is the Volga Federal District, which has gained 20 percent year on year, the Far Eastern Federal District (up 10 percent), the North Caucasus Federal District (up 9 percent) and the Siberian Federal District (up 8 percent). These federal districts have reported the largest increase in the number of passengers in 2023.
As for international traffic, we have increased the volume considerably as well, by 77 percent compared to last year. Overall, we will carry 9.5 million passengers in 2023, including thanks to the support you have provided for insurance adjustment measures and the purchase of aircraft. By the end of this year, the Aeroflot group will have 98 planes that have been reregistered to Russian legal entities. Taken together, this has also helped us increase international passenger traffic.
A separate priority is our regional development, specifically the Krasnoyarsk hub, which we began to develop in 2021. In 2023, the number of passengers within this region amounted to 700,000. Next year, we plan to significantly increase this number to 1.2 million passengers, which is a fourfold increase since the hub was launched. We are also more than doubling the size of the park. Recently, the governor also reported on the prospects of developing the airport and the number of both international and domestic flights.
Of course, we also pay a lot of attention to the Far Eastern Federal District, where we are experiencing stable growth in passenger traffic. This year, we will serve 2.9 million passengers flying from the European part to the Far East. Next year, we plan to increase this number to 3.2 million passengers.
Vladimir Putin: Please tell me about the flat fares.
Sergei Aleksandrovsky: The flat fares – we launched this programme in 2015 with your support. It has been very popular among the residents of the country. It ensures that fares are always the same for all passengers and eliminates dynamic pricing. In total, we have transported more than 17 million passengers under this programme. We would like to suggest continuing it and ask for your support for flat fares next year.
Vladimir Putin: We will do so.
Sergei Aleksandrovsky: Thank you, Mr President.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
Once again, I have heard many times that our citizens, and not only our citizens, fly with other airlines and wait to change to Aeroflot because of the high level and quality of service that Aeroflot's former leadership achieved. Therefore, I ask you to pay attention to this and express gratitude to all those who have maintained this high standard and, of course, ensure its continuation in the future.
Sergei Aleksandrovsky: Definitely.
Vladimir Putin: And, of course, we need to improve everything related to service.
Sergei Aleksandrovsky: Sure, Mr President. At the very least, we will maintain it and, of course, strive to improve the quality.
Vladimir Putin: And safety always comes first, of course.
Sergei Aleksandrovsky: Indeed, safety always comes first. We maintain a high level. In this area, everything remains stable and safe for passengers.
Vladimir Putin: Good.
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