Aeroflot has slightly increased the price of fixed-fare tickets from Moscow to the Far East for 2020. The increase amounts to approximately 4.41 TP3T. In addition, the company has sharply increased the price of premium tickets in business class and premium economy class, reports Travel.ru.
The fixed economy class fare from Moscow to Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky will increase for flights operated by Aeroflot starting January 1st from 15,000 to 15,660 rubles one-way and from 25,000 to 26,100 rubles round-trip. Tickets on flights operated by subsidiary Rossiya Airlines on the same routes, as well as to Magadan, will increase from 13,200 to 13,770 rubles one-way and from 22,000 to 22,950 rubles round-trip.
As a reminder, all direct tickets on these routes are sold at fixed rates (however, connecting tickets from other cities with a transfer in Moscow have variable rates). When flying from other cities, always check your options—separate tickets to Moscow and from Moscow to the Far East are likely to be cheaper than a single ticket for the entire route.
A fixed economy class fare on these routes was introduced in the spring of 2015. At that time, it was 11,000 rubles one-way and 18,000 rubles round-trip. It should be noted that fixed fares often lead to a shortage of seats on the route and the unavailability of tickets for short or peak travel dates.
Furthermore, Aeroflot introduced so-called "fuel surcharges" for flights to Far Eastern destinations starting January 1st in Business Class (RUB 8,400 per flight segment) and Premium Economy Class (RUB 6,300 per flight segment). This has led to both an increase in the price of regular tickets in these classes by these amounts and a sharp reduction in the value of premium tickets. Now, passengers who wish to purchase a premium ticket in one of the preferred classes for flights starting January 1st will have to pay not only tens of thousands of miles but also a significant amount in rubles. There is currently no fuel surcharge in Economy Class on Far Eastern routes.
As is well known, this surcharge has long since had no bearing on the fuel component of the ticket price and exists for purely commercial purposes. Specifically, the so-called "fuel surcharge" allows airlines to sharply reduce the benefits of frequent flyer programs, reduce child and other discounts, minimize agent commissions, and advertise supposedly low fares that bear no relation to the actual ticket price.
Some of these practices have long been banned in a number of foreign countries, and some Asian countries explicitly allow fuel surcharges to be charged solely based on current oil prices. However, Russian aviation authorities turn a blind eye to all of this and, as usual, avoid protecting passenger rights.
In particular, Aeroflot has never reduced its so-called "fuel surcharge" in response to falling oil prices. These surcharges are now much higher than they were during the period of extremely high fuel prices several years ago. Several years ago, Aeroflot (like some other Russian airlines) stopped refunding the fuel surcharge upon return of non-refundable tickets, effectively declaring that it has nothing to do with the cost of jet fuel and is simply a hidden component of the fare and a way to devalue Aeroflot Bonus miles.
Source: travel.ru
