The CEO of Aeroflot Group, Vitaly Savelyev, on Tuesday presented the Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, with a new strategy for the airline group. The plan, known as 30/30, is to be realised by 2028. Parent carrier Aeroflot will transfer a large number of aircraft to its subsidiaries, and focus on long-haul and premium routes, in the hopes of adding a star to its SKYTRAX rating.

Strategy 30/30

The first of the 30s in the new strategy stands for the increase in millions of passengers Aeroflot wishes to carry as a group in eight years' time. This is an increased ambition from the "100 by 100" revealed in November 2018. That plan saw the Aeroflot group carrying 100 million passengers in time to celebrate its centenary in 2023.

The second 30 in the plan refers to how by how much the carrier says it will decrease ticket prices in economy by 2028 - a whole 30%.

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Five-star bid from Aeroflot

Beyond the title references, the major changes in the airline group's new plan include a shift in strategy for main carrier Aeroflot. It will transition to operating only long-haul and premium routes.

As a result, it will transfer almost 250 aircraft (existing and from future orders) to its subsidiary airlines, Pobeda and Rossiya. As a result, Aeroflot will operate only Airbus A320s, A321s, A330s, A350s, and Boeing 777s for a total of about 170 aircraft. This is part of a plan to get Aeroflot into the five-star SKYTRAX club.

“We have four companies in the group. Aurora is a regional company operating in the Far East, but Aeroflot, Pobeda, and Rossiya occupy their own niches. Aeroflot has been and will remain a premium segment. And as the global trends show, the premium segment persists: it may not grow as fast as, for instance, the low-cost segment, but it will grow further." Mr Savelyev said, according to Aviapages.ru

Only ten airlines have five stars

There are currently only ten carriers with five stars from SKYTRAX, a rating that has been awarded for 20 years. These are ANA All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, EVA Air, Garuda Indonesia, Hainan Airlines, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines. Aeroflot has four.

"I would like to draw attention to the fact that, except for Aeroflot, all the rest of the carriers carry only 35 million passengers, because that quality of service can only be maintained at a more narrow segment," Mr Savelyev stated.

Pobeda and Rossiya will take over

Low-cost carrier Pobeda will take over all medium-haul routes, as well as Aeroflot's Boeing 737s. The intention is for it to carry 55 to 65 million passengers on a medium-range fleet of approximately 170 jets.

Saint-Petersburg-based Rossiya Russian Airlines will inherit the parent carrier's Sukhoi Superjet 100s and Irkut MC-21s, with the aim of operating a fleet of 250 jets, that is made up of 90% Russian-built aircraft.

Most likely, shares in regional airline Aurora will be sold.