Several airlines significantly reduced the number of flights on the Moscow-Rostov-on-Don route in mid-winter. Compared to previous winter plans, the route lost three to four flights per day, or approximately 15-20% of the planned number, according to a Travel.ru correspondent.
In fact, only Aeroflot and Rostov-based Azimuth Airlines are maintaining their previously announced winter schedule. All other carriers on this route have drastically reduced their flight frequencies, cutting from 101 TP3T to 651 TP3T flights planned at the beginning of winter.
In particular, Siberia Airlines (S7 Airlines) eliminated the early evening flight from its winter schedule and now operates only two flights per day instead of the usual three (and on weekends, only one flight per day is generally available). Furthermore, significant reductions have also been extended to the summer schedule (since March 25), when Siberia Airlines typically flies to Rostov four times a day. In January, the company revised these plans and is now selling only two to three flights per day for the entire summer (four flights are reserved for certain peak days during the World Cup).
The most drastic reductions were made by Ural Airlines, which flew to Rostov twice daily just a month ago. In January, the company eliminated one of its two daily flights, but didn't stop there. Ultimately, Ural Airlines operated only five flights per week, for a total reduction of approximately 651,330 flights. The summer schedule still includes two flights per day, but passengers shouldn't rely too heavily on this—it's possible the carrier simply hasn't gotten around to cutting it yet. Furthermore, Ural Airlines, like Azimuth Airlines, suspended flights between Rostov and Yekaterinburg in early January due to the addition of Pobeda Airlines. Flight frequency from Rostov to Yerevan has been halved until the end of March.
Nordwind Airlines will also reduce its flight frequency by a total of 651 TP3T. It also launched a winter schedule with two flights per day, but in December, almost simultaneously with the opening of the new Rostov airport, it discontinued one of them. Further reductions are planned for the summer schedule, with only five flights per week remaining. Nordwind Airlines will not increase its flight frequency during the World Cup.
Utair has taken a somewhat less radical approach. Initially, the company also planned to reduce its frequency from three flights per day to two, but has so far limited itself to reducing departures only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Just two years ago, the Moscow-Rostov route was Utair's most frequent route in the company's entire route network, with a stable four flights per day. Now, such a frequency is not even being considered for the summer schedule, including during the World Cup. The company also cancelled its Sochi-Rostov-Makhachkala flights after Azimuth Airlines took over these routes.
It's clear that such massive flight reductions on the same route are in some way related to the relocation of Rostov Airport to a new location 40 kilometers outside the city. Given the serious problems with public transportation to the new airport, this has prompted some passengers to opt for other modes of transport rather than flying, especially since there is a wide choice of trains and buses on the Moscow-Rostov route. Another factor in the flight reduction could be the exorbitant fees charged by the new airport to airlines for servicing their aircraft. As a reminder, these fees in Rostov quadrupled in some respects following the relocation, becoming by far the highest in Russia and several times higher than the national average. Most airlines have already reflected this increase in their airfare prices.
Rostov-based carrier Azimuth maintains its stated flight frequency on the Moscow-Rostov route (one flight per day) (but the company can't change the frequency without making similar changes on its other Moscow-Omsk route). Aeroflot Group also maintains its schedule, with seven Aeroflot flights per day from Sheremetyevo and two Rossiya flights from Vnukovo. Aeroflot likely benefits from its high share of transfer passengers, including those traveling internationally—it's still more economical for them to fly from Rostov, regardless of its airport location and the fees.
Furthermore, Pobeda, a low-cost airline within the Aeroflot group, slightly increased its flight frequency a month ago. However, like Azimuth, this was due to a different route: to open the Rostov-Yekaterinburg route, Pobeda added three more weekly flights to its two daily Moscow-Rostov flights.
As a result of massive flight cuts by other carriers, Aeroflot Group has gained a monopoly on this route. It currently operates an average of 11.4 flights per day between Moscow and Rostov, compared to only about 7.5 for all other airlines combined. Meanwhile, in recent years, Aeroflot Group's share on this route has almost never exceeded 50%.
There's been little progress with new routes yet: Currently, all that's known is Belavia's addition to the Minsk-Rostov route, and Yamal Airlines' plans to fly twice weekly from Chelyabinsk to Mineralnye Vody via Rostov. Meanwhile, Onurair has cancelled its Istanbul-Rostov service, scheduled for late January.
Source: travel.ru