Travel news: Aeroflot calls time
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Your support makes all the difference.The Russian airline revealed this week an end to the practice of providing complimentary alcohol in economy class - a move that is certain to dismay many passengers.
The news was buried in a press release entitled "Aeroflot to improve onboard catering for economy class". While the airline is promising "a wider range of meals", it concedes that it has abolished free vodka and other drinks because of "an upsurge in fuel prices".
Tim Jeans, managing director of Monarch Scheduled - which also charges for drinks - said "Given the Russians' legendary appetite for alcohol, there could well be considerable cost savings".
When Aeroflot began operations in 1923, it was the original no-frills airline. But since the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has achieved international standards and is set to become a member of the Skyteam alliance. Many of its old Soviet planes have been scrapped; on flights between London and Moscow, it uses Airbuses.
Long-suffering clients of the airline believe there are possible risks in charging for drinks. The writer Neil Taylor, who first flew on Aeroflot in 1971, says: "If the cost is too high, people will be tempted to break the rules and bring their own vodka."
Experience with the smoking ban on Russian domestic flights suggests inflight rules are widely flouted; on some long-haul flights, such as the 4,000-mile marathon from Moscow to Vladivostok, the lavatories at the rear of the aircraft often serve as illicit smoking dens.
But Tim Jeans does not foresee problems: "It used to be the case that you needed a stiff drink to get on an Aeroflot flight. Happily, that's no longer true."
* The latest airline to start flying between India and the UK has been taken over by a bigger rival. Air Sahara, which flies from Heathrow to Delhi, has been bought by Jet Airways - another recent arrival to Britain, with flights from Heathrow to both Delhi and Mumbai.
Usually any reduction in competition leads to fare hikes. But rivalry on India-UK routes is so intense that price rises are unlikely.
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