Azimuth Airlines has opened ticket sales for flights from Rostov-on-Don to Volgograd. Tickets are available starting at 888 rubles, according to Travel.ru.
Flights will open on September 6 and will operate twice a week – on Thursdays and Saturdays. Departure from Rostov is at 8:30 PM, arriving in Volgograd at 9:40 PM. Return departure is at 10:40 PM, arriving in Rostov at 11:50 PM. Tickets are currently on sale for dates up until the end of the summer schedule on October 27. Azimuth will operate a Superjet 100 aircraft with 100 or 103 seats.
Azimuth had already flown this route several times during the World Cup, but the schedule was far from ideal—for example, one flight arrived in Volgograd less than two hours before the start of a match. This schedule also raises questions: evening flights can be convenient for business travelers, but Thursday and Saturday are hardly peak days for such travel.
The price of non-refundable, baggage-free tickets is currently 888 rubles. Baggage-inclusive tickets are currently priced at 1,780 rubles. Neither option allows for ticket refunds. A refundable ticket costs 2,180 rubles, while a Comfort Class ticket costs 10,080 rubles. The latter is a substitute for Business Class—passengers are seated in the first two or three rows with increased headroom, receive double baggage allowance, but do not have access to the business lounge.
Baggage allowances include one 23-kilogram bag, while Comfort class passengers are allowed two such bags. However, all passengers are allowed 10 kilograms of carry-on baggage, plus a briefcase or handbag, and a number of other personal items. Adding baggage to a baggage-free fare costs 2,000 rubles. Non-refundable tickets can be changed for a 1,000-ruble fee and a possible surcharge up to the current fare if it's higher than the original—but for tickets priced at 888 rubles, this isn't worthwhile.
Meals in Economy Class are available for a fee. Passengers are only offered free sparkling and still water. Online check-in is only available for those willing to pay a minimum of 200 rubles for seat selection.
When purchasing tickets on the Azimuth Airlines website, a paid meal (a sandwich for 250 rubles) and paid insurance (also 250 rubles) are now included in the ticket by default. This practice of selling services not requested by the customer, while prohibited in the European Union and several other countries, remains widespread in Russia. To cancel these services, click the "In the order" button on the additional services selection page.
Let us recall that soon passengers of all Russian airlines may lose the guarantees of free transportation of briefcases, handbags, backpacks, outerwear, as well as baby food, medicine, canes, crutches and other items necessary for medical reasons. This is the draft order of the Ministry of Transport, prepared after the appeal to the ministry by the airline Pobeda, which demanded that passengers be deprived of all these guarantees. If the draft is approved, carriers will be able to limit passengers to only 5 kilograms of hand luggage, and the permissible dimensions of such luggage will be determined by the airlines themselves (Pobeda itself already uses a tiny “calibrator” measuring 36x30x27 centimeters for this, in which it is impossible to place many ordinary small city bags, as well as some mobile electronics - for example, some laptops).
Source: travel.ru