RUSSIA: Low Ruble Negatively Affects Aerofloat

Aeroflot reported a net loss of 3.5 billion rubles (€ 47 million) in the first six months of 2015, or 86% more than a year earlier, said the Russian airline in a statement on its balance sheet in the first half 2015.

The Russian flag carrier suffered the brunt of the economic crisis in Russia (partly because of sanctions imposed by the West as a result of the Ukrainian crisis): the declining purchasing power of the population affects international traffic and pushes airline reduce its margins or even sell tickets to fill flights losses; the collapse of the ruble increases the costs to the dollar (rental and maintenance of aircraft, repayment of credits ...). In total, the financial burden of Aeroflot were multiplied by three.

However, positive news, Aeroflot recorded a growth of 14% in passenger traffic, which results in an increase of 26% of its turnover to 176.5 billion rubles (2.3 billion euros ), higher than expected. In particular enjoyed a sharp rise in domestic traffic (+ 28.5%), boosted by the launch of its low-cost airline Pobeda (Victory), while international traffic decreased by 3%.