Aeroflot Airlines

Aeroflot is the national airline of Russia. Currently, it is the largest airline of Russia, in terms of the number of passengers carried by it, every year. It holds the distinction of being one of the oldest airlines in the world, with its history dating back to 1923. Aeroflot is headquartered in Moscow, the capital city of Russia. In the Cold War days, it used to be the national airline of the Soviet Union. After the dissolution of USSR, Aeroflot Airlines was transformed from being a state-run enterprise to a semi-privatized airline. In the present time, the airline is doing profitable business in both domestic and international levels. Go through the following lines to get information on the history and profile of Aeroflot - Russian Airlines.

History
In 1920s, after the end of World War I, European countries increasingly used aviation for peaceful purposes. Russia too operated re-equipped warplanes for peaceful aviation purposes. On May 1, 1922, flights on the first international route, Moscow-Koenigsberg (Germany at that time), were launched. July 15, 1923 marked the introduction of the first regular domestic route between Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod. On February 25, 1932, the Central Administration of Civil Air Fleet was founded and an official abbreviation of the country's civil aviation was adopted - "Aeroflot". In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, "Aeroflot - Soviet Airlines" was transformed into the open stock company "Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines".

Developments
Over the passing years, Aeroflot Airlines has evolved as one of the most competent airlines in the world. With the assistance of veteran British consultants, the airline planned to re-brand itself, in the beginning of 2000s. A promotional campaign was launched in 2003. It upgraded its fleet, with the introduction of western-built aircraft. It has also announced to increase its cargo operations.

Destinations And Fleet
Russia and presently flies to 95 destinations across 46 countries in the world. These include 27 destinations in Russia, 6 in CIS, 2 in Africa, 9 in Asia, 40 in Europe, 5 in Middle East, 3 in North America and 1 in Caribbean. In India, Aeroflot flies to Delhi and Mumbai. Aeroflot's fleet of modern aircrafts, including Airbus A319-100, Airbus A320-200, Airbus A330-200 and Airbus A330-300. In 2009-2010, the airline would introduce many more aircrafts to its fleet, including Airbus A350-900, Boeing 767-300ER. It is soon going to include Ilyushin Il-96-300 and Tupolev Tu-154M into its fleet.