Aeroflot To Create Affiliate In St. Petersburg

Anyone who follows this will know that I like to follow the Russian aviation industry. If you don't know this already, you know it now. That said, Aeroflot Russian Airlines announced today that it will set up an affiliate in St. Petersburg.

The move will "strengthen its positions on the international and domestic markets", according to its Board of Directors.

Air traffic at St. Petersburg-Pulkovo Airport (Аэропорт Пулково) is second only to Moscow. No idea as to what the new airline will be called. But Aeroflot has a measly percentage of domestic traffic - not measly, maybe, but not as big as you'd think, somewhere around 11% - so perhaps it wants to regain some of the prestige of the Soviet days. We'll see.