Russian carrier Aeroflot is facing increasing competition from low-cost carriers on European routes to Moscow. Over the last three years, there has been an increase in the number of flights, particularly from Germany.
Germanwings offers eight weekly flights from three German cities, while Germania Express operates daily flights to Moscow from Berlin, Dusseldorf and Munich. SAS, with its low-cost Snowflake fare, is undercutting prices from Scandinavia, as are AirBaltic to Riga and Evolavia from Ancona.
As a result, the Russian national carrier, through the intermediary of its chairman Valeri Okoulov, has reacted to this offensive by announcing its intention to introduce a third economy class on certain routes from Moscow. In an interview with the German weekly Wirtschaftswoche, Aeroflot's CEO said that this summer he would introduce a class known as "Economy low cost" on routes from Moscow to Berlin, Vienna, Warsaw and Prague. This new product will offer less space between rows of seats, and in-flight catering will be available at a charge.
Ticket prices will fluctuate according to market supply and demand. However, according to Aeroflot's CEO, the development of low-cost airlines on the Western Europe-Russia route is unlikely to expand significantly due to the flight times of over three hours.
