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85-539: The Soviet Union received its first DC-2 in 1935. A total of 18 DC-3s had been ordered on 11 April 1936, and the government of the USSR purchased 21 DC-3s for operation by Aeroflot before World War II . A production licence was awarded to the government of the USSR on 15 July 1936. Lisunov spent two years at the Douglas Aircraft Company , between November 1936 and April 1939 translating the design. One of

170-608: A codeshare agreement with Aerolineas Argentinas . In December 2020, the company sold its 51% stake in Aurora to Sakhalin Region Development Corporation for ₽1. In February and March 2022, as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine , Aeroflot and other Russian airlines were banned from the airspace of many countries and several routes were cancelled as a result. Russian airlines were added to

255-670: A low-cost carrier . The Aeroflot fleet , excluding subsidiaries, includes 171 airplanes: 112 Airbus planes and 59 Boeing planes. The company plans on making the Yakovlev MC-21 its flagship plane, with deliveries expected to start in 2025 or 2026. On 17 January 1921, the Sovnarkom of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic published "About Air Transportation". The document signed by its chair Vladimir Lenin set out

340-534: A DC-2, registry number N39165, which makes an emergency landing in headhunter territory in the remote South American jungle. The plane, Construction Number (C/N) 1404, survives today (see #Surviving aircraft ) in the color scheme of the one operated by KLM when it came second in the MacRobertson Air Race in 1934, flying a DC-2 registered in the Netherlands as PH-AJU Uiver . The real PH-AJU

425-435: A distance of 1,000,000 kilometres (620,000 mi), carrying 14,000 passengers and 127,500 kilograms (281,100 lb) of freight, on a route network extending to 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi). Ukrvozdukhput merged with Zakavia in 1925. Dobrolyot was transformed from a Russian to an all-Union enterprise on 21 September 1926 as a result of Sovnarkom resolutions, and in 1928 Dobrolyot was merged with Ukrvozdukhput, making it

510-615: A distance of 321,500 kilometres (199,800 mi). The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , held in 1956, included plans for Aeroflot services to be dramatically increased 3.8 times, with a target of 16,000,000 annual passengers by 1960. To meet these goals, Aeroflot introduced higher capacity turbojet and turbine-prop aircraft on key domestic routes, and on services to Aeroflot destinations abroad. A major step for Aeroflot occurred on 15 September 1956 when

595-776: A major reorganisation during which most of the Soviet aircraft were replaced by Western-built jets; concerns over fuel consumption rather than safety concerns were cited for such a move. Airbus A319s and A320s for short-haul flights in Europe; and Boeing 767s and Airbus A330s for long-haul routes; were gradually incorporated into the Aeroflot fleet . Aeroflot began working with the US travel technology firm Sabre Corporation in 1997, and in 2004 signed an agreement to use Sabre's software as its new computer reservation system , further extending

680-656: A priority in the immediate postwar years to expand services from Moscow to the capital of each of the Republics of the Soviet Union , in addition to important industrial centres on the country and transferred to Aeroflot many Lisunov Li-2s , which became the backbone of the Aeroflot fleet . The Ilyushin Il-12 entered service on Aeroflot's all-Union scheduled routes on 22 August 1947, and supplemented already existing Li-2 services. The original Ilyushin Il-18 entered service around

765-713: A response to the Revolution of Dignity , the company announced rerouting of flights to avoid flying over Ukraine. Also, in March 2014, Aeroflot 's IATA airline designator ″SU″ was adopted by its subsidiary Rossiya. In September 2015, Aeroflot agreed to acquire 75% of Transaero Airlines for the symbolic price of ₽1, but abandoned the plan after failing to come to terms on a takeover. Aeroflot instead took over several of Transaero's aircraft by assuming its leases after Transaero ceased operations in December 2015, introducing

850-752: A result of the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , and they continued until the opening of the Eastern Front in World War II in 1941. Under the third five-year plan, which began in 1938, civil aviation development continued, with improvements to airport installations being made and construction of airports being commenced. In addition to the expansion of services between the Soviet Union 's main cities, local routes (MVL) were also expanded, and by 1940, 337 MVL routes had operations on

935-633: A scheduled basis. Serial production of the Lisunov Li-2 (license-built Douglas DC-3) commenced in 1939, and the aircraft became the backbone of the Aeroflot fleet on mainline trunk routes. The day after Operation Barbarossa , the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany , on 22 June 1941, the Sovnarkom placed the Civil Air Fleet under the control of Narkomat , leading to the full-scale mobilisation of Aeroflot crews and technicians for

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1020-626: Is a 14-passenger, twin-engined airliner that was produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247 . In 1935, Douglas produced a larger version called the DC-3 , which became one of the most successful aircraft in history. In the early 1930s, fears about the safety of wooden aircraft structures drove the US aviation industry to develop all-metal airliners. United Airlines had exclusive right to

1105-526: Is known to still use a number of Li-2s for transport, although they may have been decommissioned despite their continued presence on certain airbases. Data from Aircraft of the Soviet Union ;: the encyclopaedia of Soviet aircraft since 1917 General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Douglas DC-2 The Douglas DC-2

1190-555: Is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug , Moscow , with its hub being Sheremetyevo International Airport . The Federal Agency for State Property Management , an agency of the Government of Russia , owns 73.77% of the company, with the rest of the shares being public float . During the time of the Soviet Union , Aeroflot

1275-401: The Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 to the Aeroflot fleet and allowing the company to cancel some of its jet orders. Subsidiaries Rossiya Airlines, Donavia and Orenair combined operations in late March 2016. Orenair 's AOC was cancelled by Russian authorities in late May 2016  ( 2016-05 ) . Donavia and Orenair were declared bankrupt in 2017. In June 2018, the company signed

1360-627: The Russian invasion of Ukraine . Management of the company is appointed by the Russian government due to its ownership stake. The headquarters of Aeroflot are on Arbat Street , Arbat District , Central Administrative Okrug , Moscow. The Federal Agency for State Property Management , an agency of the Government of Russia , owns 73.77% of the company, with the rest of the shares being public float . The company owns airline subsidiaries Pobeda and Rossiya Airlines . In September 2018, Aeroflot served 146 destinations in 52 countries. In 2022,

1445-674: The Soviet Air Force ); atmospheric research; and remote area patrol . It operated hundreds of helicopters and cargo aircraft in addition to civil airliners. It also operated the Soviet equivalent of a presidential aircraft and other VIP transports of government and Communist party officials. Aeroflot was also responsible for such services as ice patrol in the Arctic Ocean and escorting of ships through frozen seas; oil exploration; power line surveillance; and transportation and heavy lifting support on construction projects. For

1530-630: The Tupolev Tu-104 jet aircraft entered service on the Moscow- Omsk - Irkutsk route, marking the world's first sustained jet airline service. The airline began international flights with the type on 12 October 1956 under the command of Boris Bugayev with flights from Moscow to Prague . The aircraft placed Aeroflot in an enviable position, as airlines in the West had operated throughout the 1950s with large piston-engined aircraft. By 1958,

1615-593: The Yakovlev Yak-40 regional jet began operations on short-haul services. That same year, the Il-62 inaugurated the long-delayed service between Moscow and New York, which finally began in July and was operated by Aeroflot and Pan Am jointly. According to the book The Aeroflot Story: From Russia With Luck : "This business relationship became an acrimonious affair in which both parties complained it had been wronged by

1700-679: The international sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine , Aeroflot migrated to a Russian-based passenger service system , began sourcing aircraft parts via obscure trading companies, free-trade zones and middlemen in countries that have not imposed sanctions on Russia such as United Arab Emirates and China, and placed orders for Russian-made jets such as the Yakovlev MC-21 to reduce its dependence on foreign-made jets. In September 2023, Aeroflot paid $ 645 million to acquire 17 aircraft and five spare jet engines that were leased to Aeroflot and owned by AerCap and were stranded in Russia upon

1785-671: The list of air carriers banned in the European Union for safety reasons because planes were re-registered in Russia and no longer had foreign airworthiness certificates. The U.S. Department of Commerce banned companies from servicing Boeing planes operated by Aeroflot, Aviastar , Azur Air , Belavia , Rossiya and Utair . Manchester United F.C. cancelled its sponsorship agreement that made Aeroflot its official carrier since July 2013. Sabre Corporation and others removed access by Aeroflot to their computer reservation systems and global distribution systems . In response to

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1870-752: The 1960s. The last survivors in use were noted in China and Vietnam during the 1980s. There were many versions, including airliner, cargo, military transport, reconnaissance, aerial photography, parachute drop, bomber and high altitude variants. In Poland they were fitted for cropdusting against forest pests. The Li-2 also saw extensive service in the Chinese Air Force in the 1940s and 1950s. Several airlines operated Lisunov Li-2s, among others Aeroflot , CAAK , CSA , LOT , MALÉV , Polar Aviation, TABSO and Tarom . Only one Li-2 restored to airworthy condition exists in Europe. The Hungarian registered HA-LIX

1955-399: The 21st century in the following museums in the following places: The DC-2 was the " Good Ship Lollipop " that Shirley Temple sang about in the film Bright Eyes (1934). A DC-2 appears in the 1937 film Lost Horizon ; the footage includes taxiing, takeoff, and landing, as well as views in flight. In the 1956 film Back from Eternity , the action centers on the passengers and crew of

2040-491: The Central Administration of International Air Traffic (Russian: Центральное управление международных воздушных сообщений ) (TsUMVS) was established within the framework of IATA , and became the sole enterprise authorised to operate international flights. Abroad, the airline was known as Aeroflot Soviet Airlines. In 1976, Aeroflot carried its 100 millionth passenger. Its flights were mainly concentrated around

2125-521: The Civil Air Fleet, and after the war were placed into regular service across the Soviet Union. Whilst civil operations in European Russia west of the front line, which ran from Leningrad to Moscow to Rostov-on-Don , were prevented from operating because of the war, services from Moscow to the Urals , Siberia , Central Asia, and other regions which were not affected by the war, continued. By

2210-539: The DC-2 cost about $ 80,000 (about$ 1,780,000 in 2022) per aircraft if mass-produced. Although overshadowed by its ubiquitous successor, it was the DC-2 that first showed that passenger air travel could be comfortable, safe and reliable. As a token of this, KLM entered its first DC-2 PH-AJU Uiver (Stork) in the October 1934 MacRobertson Air Race between London and Melbourne. Out of the 20 entrants, it finished second behind

2295-571: The Li-2 also had bombing equipment—such as bomb sight and bomb racks, and defensive turret, unlike the military C-47 development of the DC-3, which was strictly an unarmed military transport. The defensive armaments consisted of MV-3 dorsal turret with a 7.62 mm (.30 in) ShKAS machine gun, later replaced with a 12.7 mm (.50 in) UBT heavy machine gun. Additionally two ShKAS machine guns on pivot mount could also be mounted on both sides of

2380-530: The Soviet Union in 1941 many of the PS-84s were taken into military use and redesignated the Lisunov Li-2 in 1942. The military models were equipped with a machine gun on dorsal turret. The aircraft were used for transport, partisan supply, bombing, and as ambulance aircraft. A total of 4,937 aircraft were produced of all Li-2 variants between 1940 and 1954 and it saw extensive use in Eastern Europe until

2465-650: The Soviet Union, but the airline also had an international network covering five continents: North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. The network included countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Cuba, Mexico and the People's Republic of China. Aeroflot service between the Soviet Union and the United States was interrupted from 15 September 1983 until 2 August 1990, following an executive order by U.S. President Ronald Reagan revoking Aeroflot's license to operate flights into and out of

2550-400: The Soviet Union, denoting the importance of the operation of holiday aircraft services to Aeroflot. Statistics for the same year showed Aeroflot operating an all-Union route network extending over 400,000 kilometres (250,000 mi), and carrying 36,800,000 passengers. By 1966, Aeroflot carried 47,200,000 passengers over a domestic route network of 474,600 kilometres (294,900 mi). For

2635-555: The Soviet aircraft industry to make it less dependent on foreign built aircraft; in 1930, 50% of aircraft flying services in the Soviet Union were of foreign manufacture. Expansion of air routes which had taken shape in the late 1920s, continued into the 1930s. Local (MVL) services were greatly expanded in Soviet Central Asia and the Soviet Far East , which by the end of the second five-year plan in 1937

Lisunov Li-2 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2720-539: The Soviet war effort. Prior to the invasion, the Aeroflot network extended over 146,000 kilometres (91,000 mi), and amongst the longest routes being operated from Moscow were those to Tbilisi (via Baku ), Tashkent and Vladivostok . Aeroflot aircraft, including PS-35s and PS-43s, were based at Khodynka Aerodrome in Moscow; and important missions undertaken by Aeroflot aircraft and crews included flying supplies to

2805-663: The United States following the downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 by the Soviet Air Force. Flights resumed in April 1986. At the start of the 1990s, Aeroflot reorganised again giving more autonomy to territorial divisions. R. E. G. Davies , former curator of the Smithsonian Institution , claims that by 1992 Aeroflot had over 600,000 people operating over 10,000 aircraft. Once the world's largest carrier , Aeroflot did not restrict its operations to

2890-491: The airline itself came under control of Russia, the largest of the CIS republics, and was renamed Aeroflot – Russian International Airlines (ARIA) . In 1992, Aeroflot was divided into approximately 400 regional airlines informally known as Babyflots , which included BAL Bashkirian Airlines , KrasAir , Moscow Airways and Tatarstan Airlines , with Aeroflot keeping the international routes. In 1994, Aeroflot

2975-429: The airline was of Leon Trotsky . The basic objectives were the organisation of airmail, cargo and passenger lines, aviation related solutions of national economic problems (for example, aerial photography of localities) and also the development of the domestic aircraft industry. Dobrolyot constructed airports and weather stations. Artist Alexander Rodchenko developed the corporate identity and advertising strategy of

3060-405: The all metal twin-engine Boeing 247 ; rival TWA issued a specification for an all-metal trimotor. The Douglas response was more radical. When it flew on July 1, 1933, the prototype DC-1 had a robust tapered wing, retractable landing gear, and two 690 hp (515 kW) Wright radial engines driving variable-pitch propellers . It seated 12 passengers. Douglas test pilot Carl Cover flew

3145-454: The basic design, the GAZ-84 works had to make some 1,293 engineering change orders to the original Douglas drawings, involving part design, dimensions, materials and processes, most as a part of metrication of the design from U.S. customary units to suit Soviet standards, no small task for Vladimir Myasishchev to accomplish. The well-established Shvetsov OKB-19 design bureau, responsible for

3230-456: The basic regulations on air transport over the territory of the RSFSR. The document was significant as it was the first time that a Russian state had declared sovereignty over its airspace . In addition, the document defined rules for the operation of foreign aircraft over the Soviet Union's airspace and territory. After Lenin issued an order, a State Commission was formed on 31 January 1921 for

3315-564: The besieged cities of Leningrad , Kyiv , Odessa and Sevastopol . During the Battle of Stalingrad , between August 1942 and February 1943, Aeroflot operated 46,000 missions to Stalingrad, ferrying in 2,587 tonnes (5,703,000 lb) of supplies and 30,000 troops. Following the defeat of the Wehrmacht , 80 Junkers Ju 52 /3ms were captured from the Germans, and were placed into the service of

3400-565: The company designation Airspeed AS.23, but although a registration for one aircraft was reserved none were built. Another licence was taken by the Nakajima Aircraft Company in Japan; unlike Fokker and Airspeed, Nakajima built five aircraft as well as assembling at least one Douglas-built aircraft. A total of 130 civil DC-2s were built with another 62 for the United States military. In 1935 Don Douglas stated in an article that

3485-421: The company from 51% to 100%; soon afterwards, Aeroflot-Nord was created following the buyout of Arkhangelsk Airlines . In December 2009, after it filed for bankruptcy, Aeroflot-Cargo merged into Aeroflot. In November 2011, Rostec , a state agency, merged five airlines it owned - Vladivostok Avia , Saravia , Rossiya Airlines , SAT Airlines and Orenair - into Aeroflot, acquiring an additional 3.5% of

Lisunov Li-2 - Misplaced Pages Continue

3570-474: The company in a ₽2.5 billion deal. Saravia was then sold to private investors. In September 2013, Aurora (originally called Taiga) was created, combining Vladivostok Air and SAT Airlines . In June 2013, at the World Airline Awards which took place at the 50th Le Bourget air show, Aeroflot was awarded the international prize as the best air carrier in Eastern Europe. In October 2013,

3655-521: The company introduced an affiliated low-cost carrier (LCC), Dobrolet . It started operations in June 2014; however, it ceased on 4 August 2014  ( 2014-08-04 ) due to EU sanctions over the airline launching flights to Crimea . In late August 2014, Aeroflot announced the launch of Pobeda , a new LCC to replace Dobrolet using aircraft transferred from Orenair. It started operations from Vnukovo Airport in December 2014. In March 2014, as

3740-476: The company. He designed posters encouraging citizens to buy stock in Dobrolet and also designed the "Winged Hammer and Sickle" logo. A capital of 2 million gold rubles was authorised to fund its early projects and this was later augmented by funds derived from the issuance of shares, which were initially offered to Soviet enterprises at the cost of one gold ruble each. Those who bought 25,000 shares were given

3825-432: The early 2000s, the airline hired British consultants for rebranding. From the start, plans were afoot to replace the hammer and sickle logo, a symbol of Soviet communism; despite this the logo was not scrapped, as it was the most recognisable symbol of the company for over 70 years. A new Aircraft livery and uniforms for flight attendants were designed and a promotional campaign launched in 2003. Its fleet has undergone

3910-611: The end of 1924 the subdivision had carried 480 passengers and 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of mail and freight, on a total of 210 flights. In March 1924, Dobrolyot began operating flights from Sevastopol to Yalta and Yevpatoriya in Crimea . Dobrolyot's route network was extended during the 1925–1927 period to include Kazan and regular flights between Moscow and Kharkov were inaugurated. Dobrolyot flights to Kharkov connected with Ukrvozdukhput services to Kiev , Odessa and Rostov-on-Don . In 1925, Dobrolyot operated 2,000 flights over

3995-575: The end of the war, Aeroflot had flown 1,595,943 special missions, including 83,782 at night, and carried 1,538,982 men and 122,027 tonnes (269,023,000 lb) of cargo. At the end of World War II , the Soviet government repaired and rebuilt essential airport infrastructure, and it strengthened the Aeroflot units in the European part of the Soviet Union. In 1945, Aeroflot carried 537,000 passengers, compared with 359,000 in 1940. The government made it

4080-558: The engineers who accompanied him to Douglas was Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev . Design work and production were undertaken at State Aviation Factory 84 in Khimki (now a suburb of Moscow). The Soviet version was given the designation PS-84 – Passazhirskiy Samolyot 84, passenger airplane 84 (i.e. made in GAZ/State Aircraft Plant No. 84). Despite the original intention to incorporate as few changes as necessary to

4165-762: The expansion of the Red Air Fleet, and it is this date which was officially recognised as the beginning of civil aviation in the Soviet Union. On 9 February 1923, the Council of Labour and Defence passed a resolution to create the Civil Air Fleet of the USSR . After a resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , the Enterprise for Friends of the Air Fleet (ODVF)

4250-471: The first test flight on May 11, 1934, of the DC-2 which was longer than the DC-1, had more powerful engines, and carried 14 passengers in a 66-inch-wide cabin. TWA was the launch customer for the DC-2 ordering twenty. The design impressed American and European airlines and further orders followed. Although Fokker had purchased a production licence from Douglas for $ 100,000 (about $ 2,224,000 in 2022) no manufacturing

4335-486: The formation of Deruluft in Berlin on 11 November 1921, as a joint venture between the Soviet Union and Germany. The company, whose aircraft were registered in both Germany and the Soviet Union, began operations on 1 May 1922 with a Fokker F.III flying between Königsberg and Moscow. The service was initially operated twice a week and restricted to the carriage of mail. On 3 February 1923, Sovnarkom approved plans for

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4420-678: The great bulk of the Soviets' air-cooled radial aviation powerplant designs of the 1930-40s, used their Shvetsov ASh-62 IR radial engines, a Soviet development of the nine-cylinder Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 , to power the PS-84. The same Wright Aeronautical Cyclone 9 radial also powered the earliest Douglas DST "Sleeper Transport" versions, and initial 21-passenger versions, of the original American DC-3 airliner. The Soviet standard design practice usually mandated fully shuttered engines in order to cope with temperature extremes. A slightly shorter span

4505-488: The height of the 1970 summer holidays season, the airline was carrying approximately 400,000 passengers per day, and 90% of passengers were being carried on propeller-turbine and jet aircraft. In March 1970, Aeroflot had amassed a route network that was 600,000 kilometres (370,000 miles) long, a quarter of which covered international destinations. At this time, the carrier had agreements with 59 countries but it only served 54 of them, including 55 destinations. In January 1971,

4590-709: The invasion, the Kremlin set in motion a plan to relocate much of the industrial capability of the Soviet Union to the East, with production of the Li-2 ending up at GAZ-33 in Tashkent , now the capital of Uzbekistan . After a monumental struggle, the factory was producing PS-84s again by January 1942. GAZ-124 at Kazan also built ten aircraft before the start of World War II, and 353 Li-2Ts were built by GAZ-126 at Komsomolsk-on-Amur between 1946 and 1950, before that plant switched to MiG-15 production. Some military versions of

4675-571: The latter tasks, Aeroflot used, in addition to smaller helicopters, the Mil Mi-10 flying crane capable of lifting 11,000 to 14,000 kilograms (24,000 to 31,000 lb). Hauling of heavy cargo, including vehicles, was performed by the world's largest operational helicopter, the Mil Mi-26 . Its unusual eight-blade rotor enabled it to lift a maximum payload of 20 tons. The medium- and long-range passenger- and cargo aircraft of Aeroflot were also part of

4760-476: The name "Aeroflot" was officially adopted for the entire Soviet Civil Air Fleet. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union Congress in 1933 set out development plans for the civil aviation industry for the following five years, with air transportation becoming one of the primary means of transportation in the Soviet Union, linking all major cities. The government also implemented plans to expand

4845-484: The number of destinations was significantly reduced after many countries banned Russian aircraft as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine . It currently operates service to/from Armenia , Azerbaijan , Belarus , China , Cuba , Egypt , Hong Kong , India , Iran , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Maldives , Mauritius , Seychelles , Sri Lanka , Thailand , Turkey , United Arab Emirates , Uzbekistan , and Vietnam . Aeroflot only has codeshare agreements with

4930-504: The number of passengers carried in 1961 skyrocketing to 21,800,000. Further expansion came in 1962 when both the Tupolev Tu-124 and Antonov An-24 entered regular service with Aeroflot on various medium and short-haul routes. By 1964, Aeroflot operated direct flights from Moscow to 100 cities, from Leningrad to 44 cities, and from Kyiv to 38 cities. The airline also operated direct flights from Mineralnye Vody to 48 cities across

5015-598: The official race route), carrying mail, making every scheduled passenger stop, turning back once to pick up a stranded passenger, and even became lost in a thunderstorm and briefly stuck in the mud after a diversionary landing at the Albury race course on the last leg of the journey. Modified DC-2s built for the United States Army Air Corps under several military designations: ♠ = Original operators Several DC-2s have survived and been preserved in

5100-448: The only civil aviation airline in the Soviet Union. In 1932, its name was changed to Transaviatsia and later that year, all civil aviation activities were consolidated under the name of Grazhdansky Vozdushny Flot (Civil Air Fleet), known as Aeroflot . Responsibility for all civil aviation activities in the Soviet Union came under the control of the Chief Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet on 25 February 1932, and on 25 March 1932

5185-422: The other. Pan Am accused the Soviets of illegally siphoning away Moscow-to-New York passengers, whilst in turn; Aeroflot accused US consular officials in Russia of having steered passengers to Pan Am flights." In 1968, the company opened its first office in the United States. By 1970, the last year of the five-year plan period, Aeroflot was operating flights to over 3,500 destinations in the Soviet Union, and at

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5270-556: The period 1951–1955, emphasised Aeroflot expanding night-time operations, which vastly improved aircraft utilisation. By 1952, 700 destinations in the Soviet Union received regular flights from Aeroflot. On 30 November 1954, the Ilyushin Il-14 entered service, and the aircraft took a leading role in the operation of Aeroflot's all-Union services. The number of passengers carried in 1955 increased to 2,500,000, whilst freight and mail carriage also increased, to 194,960 and 63,760 tons, respectively. By this time, Aeroflot's route network covered

5355-473: The period of the eighth five-year plan, which ran from 1966 to 1970, Aeroflot carried a total of 302,200,000 passengers, 6.47 billion tons of freight and 1.63 billion tons of mail. During the five-year plan period, all-Union services were extended over an additional 350 routes; an additional 1,000 MVL routes were begun, and 40 new routes were opened up with all-cargo flights. In 1967, the Ilyushin Il-62 and Tupolev Tu-134 were introduced, and in September 1968

5440-444: The post-Soviet era, dropping from 5,400 planes in 1991 to 115 in 1996. In 1995, Boris Berezovsky played a key role in a management reshuffle that led to Nikolai Glushkov becoming CFO of the company. The two were later accused of embezzling $ 700 million from the airline, laundering the money through two Swiss companies, Forus and Andava. In 2010, CHF51 million in frozen assets in Swiss bank accounts were returned to Aeroflot. In

5525-410: The purpose of civil aviation planning in the Soviet Union. As a result of the commission's plans, Glavvozdukhflot (Russian: Главвоздухфлот (Главное управление воздушного флота) , Chief Administration of the Civil Air Fleet) was established, and it began mail and passenger flights on the Moscow- Oryol - Kursk - Kharkov route on 1 May 1921 using Sikorsky Ilya Muromets aircraft. This was followed by

5610-471: The purpose-built de Havilland DH.88 racer Grosvenor House (race time 70 hours 54 minutes) and nearly three hours ahead of the Boeing 247D . During the total journey time of 90 hours, 13 min, it was in the air for 81 hours, 10 min. It won the handicap section of the race as although the DH.88 had finished first in the handicap section the regulations allowed the crew to claim only one victory. It flew KLM's regular 9,000-mile route, (a thousand miles longer than

5695-455: The rear fuselage near the cargo door. A version designated Li-2VV ( Voyenny Variant = military variant) had a redesigned nose for extra ShKAS machine gun and could carry up to four 250 kg (551 lb) bombs under the central fuselage. Smaller bombs could be carried inside the fuselage and thrown out of the cargo door by the crew. The PS-84 had flown with Aeroflot primarily as a passenger transport before World War II. When Germany attacked

5780-511: The relationship with Sabre in 2010. On 29 July 2004, a new corporate slogan was adopted: "Sincerely Yours. Aeroflot". In April 2006, Aeroflot became the tenth airline to join SkyTeam , and the first air carrier in the former Soviet Union to do so. The company announced plans to increase cargo operations. It registered the Aeroflot-Cargo trademark in 2006. Aeroflot became the sole shareholder of Donavia —a domestic airline then-named Aeroflot-Don —in December 2006, when it boosted its stake in

5865-483: The right to use a plane from its fleet. Within a year, capital expanded from 2 million rubles to 5 million rubles. The airline primarily used aircraft made by Junkers . Regular flights by Dobrolyot from Moscow to Nizhniy Novgorod commenced on 15 July 1923. In 1923, an agreement was signed establishing a subdivision of Dobrolyot based in Tashkent , operating to points in Soviet Central Asia . Services between Tashkent and Alma Ata began on 27 April 1924, and by

5950-459: The route network covered 349,200 kilometres (217,000 mi), and the airline carried 8,231,500 passengers, and 445,600 tons of mail and freight, with fifteen percent of all-Union services being operated by jet aircraft. Aeroflot introduced the Antonov An-10 and Ilyushin Il-18 in 1959, and together with its existing jet aircraft, the airline was able to extend services on modern aircraft to twenty one cities by 1960. The Tupolev Tu-114 , then

6035-437: The same time as the Il-12, and was operated on routes from Moscow to Yakutsk , Khabarovsk , Vladivostok, Alma Ata, Tashkent, Sochi , Mineralnye Vody and Tbilisi. By 1950, the Il-18 was withdrawn from service, replaced by Il-12s. MVL and general aviation services received a boost in March 1948, when the first Antonov An-2s were delivered and entered service in Central Russia . Development of MVL services over latter years

6120-543: The strategic air transport reserve, ready to provide immediate airlift support to the armed forces. Short-range aircraft and helicopters were available for appropriate military support missions. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, service expanded significantly. Up until that time, Aeroflot had been the only establishment providing air services throughout the Soviet Union, but with its breakup Aeroflot branches of these countries began their own services, and

6205-649: The transportation of passengers, but monopolised all civil aviation activities within the Soviet Union . Apart from passenger transportation that covered a domestic network of over 3,600 villages, towns and cities, activities undertaken by the airline that were labelled as "non-transport tasks" included air ambulance ; aerial application ; heavy lifting for the Soviet Space Agency ; offshore oil platform support; exploration and aeromagnetic survey for natural resources; support for construction projects; transport of military troops and supplies (as an adjunct to

6290-491: The world's largest airliner, entered service with the Soviet carrier on 24 April 1961 on the Moscow- Khabarovsk route; covering a distance of 6,980 kilometres (4,340 mi) in 8 hours 20 minutes. The expansion of the Aeroflot fleet saw services with modern aircraft being extended to forty one cities in 1961, with fifty percent of all-Union services being operated by these aircraft. This fleet expansion also saw

6375-644: Was 35,000 kilometres (22,000 mi) in length out of a total network of 93,300 kilometres (58,000 mi). The agreement between the Soviet Union and Germany relating to Deruluft expired on 1 January 1937 and wasn't renewed, which saw the joint venture carrier ceasing operations on 1 April 1937. On that date Aeroflot began operations on the Moscow to Stockholm route, and began operating the ex-Deruluft route from Leningrad to Riga utilising Douglas DC-3s and Tupolev ANT-35s (PS-35s). Flights from Moscow to Berlin, via Königsberg, were suspended until 1940, when they were restarted by Aeroflot and Deutsche Luft Hansa as

6460-453: Was attributed to the An-2, which was operated by Aeroflot in all areas of the Soviet Union. Aeroflot's route network had extended to 295,400 kilometres (183,600 mi) by 1950, and it carried 1,603,700 passengers, 151,070 tonnes (333,050,000 lb) of freight and 30,580 tonnes (67,420,000 lb) of mail that year. Night flights began in the same year, and the fifth five-year plan, covering

6545-590: Was built in 1949 in Airframe Factory Nr.84 (GAZ-84) of Tashkent, as serial number 18433209 and was operated by MALÉV till 1964. It was withdrawn to a museum in 1974 as an airforce parachute trainer airplane. After a complete reconstruction finished in 2001 it flies sightseeing tours and regularly participates at air shows. It is operated by the Goldtimer Foundation, based at Budaörs Airport , Budapest , Hungary . The North Korean Air Force

6630-497: Was different and the various steel substructures such as engine mounts and landing gear, wheels, and tires were also quite different from the original design. Later modifications allowed the provision of ski landing gear in order to operate in remote and Arctic regions. The first PS-84s had begun to emerge from the GAZ-84 production line by 1939. By the time Germany invaded the USSR on 22 June 1941 , 237 PS-84s had been built at GAZ-84, all in civil passenger configuration. In response to

6715-607: Was done in The Netherlands . Those for European customers KLM , LOT , Swissair , CLS and LAPE purchased via Fokker in the Netherlands were built and flown by Douglas in the US, sea-shipped to Europe with wings and propellers detached, then erected at airfields by Fokker near the seaport of arrival (e.g. Cherbourg or Rotterdam). Airspeed Ltd. took a similar licence for DC-2s to be delivered in Britain and assigned

6800-496: Was formed in imitation of the Russian Merchant Navy Volunteer Fleet, Dobroflot , formed in 1878. According to its charter, it was formed "for the development of the civil air fleet within the USSR by organizing air lines for the transportation of passengers, mail and cargo, aerial photography and other areas of air fleet application based on the domestic aviation industry". The idea to create

6885-568: Was founded on 8 March 1923. In February and March 1923, resolutions of the Council of Labour and Defence and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union created civil aviation services in the Soviet Union , including the formation of 3 airlines: Dobrolyot in March 1923, Ukrvozdukhput in April 1923, based in Kharkov , and Zakavia in May 1923, based in Tiflis . Dobrolyot

6970-430: Was incorporated, but many of the other alterations were less evident. The passenger door was moved to the right or starboard side of the fuselage, with a top-opening cargo door on the left or port side in place of the original passenger door. The structural reinforcement included slightly heavier skins, because the metric skin gauges were not exact equivalents of the American alloy sheet metal. Standard Soviet metric hardware

7055-1017: Was lost in a crash a few months after the MacRobertson Air Race. Author Ernest K. Gann recounts his early days as a commercial pilot flying DC-2s in his memoir Fate Is the Hunter . This includes a particularly harrowing account of flying a DC-2 with heavy ice. Data from McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Aeroflot PJSC Aeroflot – Russian Airlines ( Russian : ПАО «Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии» , PAO Aeroflot — Rossiyskiye avialinii ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( English: / ˈ ɛər oʊ ˌ f l ɒ t / or / ˌ ɛər oʊ ˈ f l ɒ t / ; Russian : Аэрофлот , transl.  "air fleet" , pronounced [ɐɛrɐˈfɫot] ),

7140-448: Was one of the largest airlines in the world . In 1992, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union , Aeroflot was divided into approximately 400 regional airlines informally known as Babyflots and was restructured into an open joint-stock company . It has a market share in Russia of approximately 39%. Including subsidiaries , the company carried 47.3 million passengers in 2023. Aeroflot also owns Rossiya Airlines and Pobeda ,

7225-458: Was registered as a joint-stock company and the government sold off 49% of its stake to Aeroflot employees. In the 1990s, Aeroflot was primarily focused on international flights from Moscow. However, by the end of the decade Aeroflot started an expansion in the domestic market. In 2000, the company name was changed to Aeroflot – Russian Airlines to reflect the change in the company strategy. The Aeroflot fleet shrank dramatically in

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