Holiday with tears in the eyes: its 100th anniversary Aeroflot celebrates under sanctions

On Friday, February 17, the oldest Russian airline Aeroflot celebrates its 100th anniversary. On this occasion, a festive video with dancing flight attendants is being actively distributed in the media and social networks.

Moreover, according to the Aviatorschina channel, the national airline is preparing to launch retro flights in the style of the Soviet Aeroflot in honor of its centenary, which will be operated during this year. Flight attendants will be dressed in the corporate uniform of the Soviet Aeroflot of different decades. They will serve passengers using a special technology close to the Soviet one. Meals on retro flights will also be stylized under the Soviet era: lemonades "Pinocchio", "Duchess", "Tarhun", sweets "Take-off" and others… Retro flights will be operated in different directions, for example to St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Sochi, Vladivostok.

It is also reported that these flights will mainly be carried out on an Airbus A320 (RA-73753) aircraft. It is worth paying special attention to this circumstance, since the airline approaches its glorious date in a very difficult situation and precisely because it flies mainly on foreign-made aircraft.

For example, the day before, as Novye Izvestia has already reported, the Turkish authorities banned refueling and maintenance of American-made aircraft from Russia and Belarus. However, Aeroflot indicated that the airline "performs flights to the cities of Turkey in the normal mode, according to the schedule, within the framework of the stated flight program."

Analysts of the Kremlyovsky Mamkoved channel note that by its 100th anniversary, Aeroflot is flying "on the wings of self-irony", and maybe it is preparing the clientele for hard times.

The channel draws attention to funny historical facts. For example, what Aeroflot looked like 100 years ago: a Moscow — Nizhny Novgorod ticket cost 120 million rubles, the flight lasted 2.5 hours and took place on six-seater (pilot, flight mechanic and four passengers) German Junkers F-13. No flight attendants, food and "Duchess". Luggage — up to 8 kg, if you take more — pay. Discount for those who bought "subscription tickets".

It is also interesting that by the anniversary, the airline received two gifts that are designed to solve its current problems: firstly, the government allocated it about 300 billion rubles to buy aircraft from foreign lessors (so far only 10 long-haul aircraft have been purchased), and secondly, Aeroflot received an aircraft developer certificate. Now, according to the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAP-21J), the airline can develop documentation for atypical repairs of any types of aircraft (AF), as well as for modification of components and systems of domestic and Western-made aircraft according to the widest list in Russia. For example, exclusively the hero of the day was allowed to develop documentation for control systems or the fuel system of the aircraft.

However, experts believe that Aeroflot with this license is unlikely to undertake the design of such complex products as an engine or something from avionics. It's more about simple things — tubes, gaskets, hoses, filters, etc.

"Nevertheless, the issuance of such documents to the national air carrier, coupled with the fact that the cannibalization of aircraft was legalized in Russia at the beginning of the year, looks unambiguous. It turns out that Aeroflot is entering a new century of its existence with permission to disassemble aircraft, with the right to independently develop spare parts and with passenger service using Soviet technology...", - the channel's analysts conclude.