SELIGER, August 24 /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s national flag carrying airline, Aeroflot, plans to keep up the airfare of 7,500 rubles ($ 208.3) for flights between Moscow and Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, during the coming autumn and winter, the airline’s Director General Vitaly Savelyev told reporters Sunday.
“We’ll keep up the fare of 7,500 if the seat load factor is 80% because it is acceptable for us today when we have a seat load factor of 90%,” Savelyev said.
He admitted that the small fixed airfare had kept Aeroflot at the lowest level of profitability initially.
“But now servicing at Simferopol airport has become less expensive and the new fuelling companies, who give a better price of jet kerosene, have appeared,” Savelyev said adding Aeroflot had also put new and more efficient jets on the route.
“The actual demand will be the only determining factor,” Savelyev said.
“For us the Crimea is just a freshly opened chapter and if a fall of demand it registered then we’ll start reducing the frequency of flights.”
At present, Aeroflot makes ten flights between Moscow and Simferopol a day.