Aeroflot has created another low-cost airline. The company called Budget Carrier (Byudzhetny Perevozchik) will thus replace Dobrolet Airline that fell under the EU sanctions. Aeroflot acts as the full owner of all shares of the new entity.
For the time being, it remains unknown under which brand the new airline will operate. Spokespeople for the administration of Aeroflot have recently reported that the airline had plans to open a new budget airline instead of Dobrolet, the operation of which had to be closed after the introduction of EU sanctions.
Dobrolet started operating on June 10. The first direction in the route network of the airline was the city of Simferopol, the Crimea. However, on August 4, Dobrolet stopped all of its flights. Counterparties, including Lufthansa Technik, refused to service the fleet of the Russian airline. "After the introduction of the second package of EU sanctions we have to suspend servicing the airline. But we hope that positive political changes will lead to the withdrawal of sanctions, and Lufthansa Technik will resume the service of the Russian airline," a representative of Lufthansa Technik said.
In late August, it was said that Dobrolet would resume flights under a new name. According to the source, Aeroflot saw that the airline was profitable in only 1.5 months of its existence. "It's all new, there will be a new certificate. In 1.5 months, we have seen the profitability of the low-cost airline. Therefore, we want to go back to the project," he explained.
The new company may begin flights in late October.
Dobrolet had three aircraft - two Boeing 737-800 and one SuperJet-100. Before the end of the current year, the company will have four Boeing 737-800 aircraft.