Azimuth Airlines operated its first international flight on September 29, a route from Rostov-on-Don to Bishkek.
On the first flight from Rostov, 98% seats were occupied, and the return flight was also almost completely sold out. Passengers who were the first to purchase tickets for both flights, as is customary with the Rostov airline, received a bonus round-trip ticket to any Azimuth flight destination.
The next routes to open are from Rostov and Stavropol to Yerevan, scheduled for October 1st, and the Krasnodar-Yerevan route two days later. Further expansion of the Asian route is planned for early next year.
Flights from Krasnodar to Bishkek and Almaty are tentatively scheduled to begin in January. A route from Rostov to Almaty is expected to be added to next year's summer schedule.
Furthermore, Azimuth is considering optimizing its schedule to increase connecting opportunities at Rostov Airport. The carrier, which has discovered that even without specially scheduling connections, still carries a significant number of transfer passengers, intends to adjust its summer schedule next year to offer more convenient connections in Rostov.
As a reminder, current Russian aviation legislation makes it nearly impossible to establish new airlines by requiring mainline carriers to have a minimum of eight aircraft in their fleet. And if airlines are somehow established, they are further hampered by a ban on international flights for two years after their launch. Azimuth Airlines, which made its first flight exactly one year ago, managed to lobby for a slight relaxation of this requirement this year, partially excluding flights to countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (which, in addition to Russia, includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan).
In September, Azimuth also launched routes from Rostov to Volgograd and Grozny, as well as flights from Rostov and Krasnodar to Nizhnekamsk. Additionally, starting in October, the company plans to fly from Moscow to Pskov, from Krasnodar to Kazan, from Sochi to Kaluga, and from Rostov to Tyumen. Flights on the Moscow-Elista route will be doubled from two to four times per week. At the same time, Azimuth will close several routes in late September and early October: from Elista to Sochi and Rostov, from Krasnodar and Mineralnye Vody to Kaluga, and from Moscow to Grozny.
Source: travel.ru
