Aeroflot has scheduled test flights of its newest aircraft, the Airbus A350, on the Moscow-St. Petersburg and Moscow-Dubai routes in March. The test period will last three weeks—it is primarily intended to familiarize crews with the new technology, but it also allows the new product to be introduced to a larger number of passengers, reports Travel.ru's own correspondent.
The first two weeks of testing are dedicated to St. Petersburg, where three flights per day are scheduled. However, on the first day of flights, March 6, only two flights are scheduled: at 8:10 and 15:35 from Moscow, and at 11:05 and 18:25 from St. Petersburg. A third flight will be added on March 7, at 21:35 from Moscow and 0:35 from St. Petersburg. The flight schedule to St. Petersburg is currently scheduled only until March 20.
In Moscow, they will use Sheremetyevo-1 (B) Terminal. These two weeks will likely be the only time in the foreseeable future when the Airbus A350 will be available for domestic flights. After that, it is planned to use it only on international routes until at least 2021.
The current minimum price for an Airbus A350 ticket is 3,009 rubles, similar to other Aeroflot flights between Moscow and St. Petersburg. While it's difficult to find such prices in early March due to the holiday season, it's possible to find a good deal in mid-March (usually with a morning flight from Moscow). Most Airbus A350 flights currently cost at least 5,099 rubles one-way (though it's likely to be cheaper in the future during various discount promotions). A premium economy class ticket can be purchased for 11,349 rubles one-way, and a business class ticket for 45,599 rubles.
The next phase of aircraft testing is planned for March 21–28, on the medium-haul Moscow–Dubai route. Departures are scheduled at 8:30 a.m. from Moscow and 4:40 p.m. from Dubai (except March 26). Flights to Dubai on the Airbus A350 start at 10,968 rubles one-way and 20,106 rubles roundtrip.
This concludes the crew's familiarization with Aeroflot's new aircraft type, and starting March 29, it will be deployed on its first regular route—evening flights to New York (8:05 PM from Moscow and 12:55 AM from New York). The minimum roundtrip fare is currently 26,854 rubles.
As new aircraft arrive, the Airbus A350 will be added to a number of other routes in 2020. These include flights to Beijing, Delhi, Amsterdam, Osaka, Havana, Miami, Los Angeles, Denpasar, Male, and London (this list is subject to change or additions).
Aeroflot ordered the Airbus A350-900 in a three-class configuration with 316 seats. Of these, 28 are in Business Class (7 rows of 4 lie-flat seats with direct aisle access for each passenger), 24 are in Premium Economy Class (3 rows of 8 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration), and 264 are in regular Economy Class (3-3-3 configuration). Aeroflot is expected to receive at least 14 Airbus A350s in total. They will replace the Airbus A330s as they are phased out of the fleet.
Aeroflot has applied a slightly modified livery to its Airbus A350, specifically featuring an enlarged airline name and an almost entirely white fuselage. While this innovation has so far provoked mixed reactions from aviation enthusiasts, it's possible that seeing the aircraft in person, rather than in photographs, will change some of their minds. Overall, the new livery is in line with the global trend toward larger airline name fonts (including those applied to the underside of the aircraft), as well as white or light-colored fuselages.
Source: travel.ru