Air liners today are the most popular way to travel from one point to another. Due to the large number of airlines, a passenger can choose a suitable carrier for himself, focusing on his own preferences and reviews of other travelers left on the Internet. In recent years, the list of Russian airlines has replenished with new names that have not yet managed to gain popularity among the total mass of our compatriots. Therefore, the issue of choosing the right carrier becomes more and more acute over time, especially in the summer season, when most Russians seek to go on vacation. In our article you will be able to familiarize yourself with the lists of Russian airlines formed according to different characteristics. And also you will find out by what criteria the average passenger makes a choice.
Grade Options
Each year, airline ratings based on passenger ratings posted on the carrier’s official website are published on the Internet. Most often, they are formed by automated systems, regardless of company affiliation. This list of the best airlines in Russia also fall from time to time, although they do not yet occupy places in the first three leaders. Most often, when creating a rating, the following indicators are taken into account:
- fleet size;
- technical condition of air liners;
- passenger flow level;
- service on board;
- food quality;
- technical equipment of the cabin (uninterrupted Wi-Fi, the ability to communicate on a mobile phone, and so on);
- reliability.
Typically, an automated program adds up all the estimates for the above parameters and, depending on the result, puts the airline in the ranking in one place or another. However, such a list is not always convenient for our compatriots to follow, because there are not too many Russian air carriers in them. What to do if you are interested in the list of airlines from Russia? To this end, we have collected in our article our own ratings of domestic carriers, formed by various characteristics.
The most reliable airlines
What flight does every passenger expect? Of course, comfortable, tasty and fast, but first of all we all hope that the flight will be safe. Therefore, this characteristic worries our compatriots most of all when they are faced with the question of choosing an air carrier. We present to your attention the TOP-5 of the most reliable airlines in Russia. The list is as follows:
- Aeroflot;
- "Russia";
- "Victory";
- Yamal;
- I fly.
We will briefly talk about each company.
Aeroflot
For several years now, this leader has not been inferior to anyone on the list of the safest air carriers. It is known that company liners are regularly updated and their average age is four years.
Aeroflot is based in Moscow and has an aircraft fleet of more than one hundred and fifty airliners. The rating of the company adds ten-year membership in the international association of air carriers.
"Russia"
This airline takes the second place in the list quite deservedly. The base airfield is Pulkovo in St. Petersburg. Interestingly, a few years ago the carrier occupied the third place in a similar rating. Now, despite the average age of liners reaching eleven to thirteen years, “Russia” was able to improve its result. The fleet has, according to the latest data, forty-four aircraft.
Initially, the company was part of the Aeroflot group, but not so long ago it merged with Orenburg ALs.
"Victory"
This company is a popular Russian low-cost airline. It has about twelve airliners, the average age of which does not exceed two years. This gives Pobeda the opportunity to receive very high ratings from passengers who, with each flight, note the novelty of the aircraft and the comfort of the cabin.
The airline is based at Vnukovo Airport. It also hosts aircraft maintenance.
Yamal
This airline is well known in the West Siberian region, it is based in Salekhard and owns an extensive fleet of aircraft. Passengers respond positively to flights operated by this carrier. In addition, he has a very wide geography of routes.
Yamal owns twenty-four aircraft, but their average age is fourteen.
I fly
It is one of the youngest airlines in the country. It is based in Vnukovo and has only four airliners. Their age exceeds seventeen years, but nevertheless the air carrier confidently holds the fifth place in our rating, which is very surprising for such a young organization.
There are not too many reviews about this carrier on the Internet, but more than sixty percent of them are positive. This is what allowed the airline to occupy such a high position in the ranking of reliable air carriers.
The largest airlines in Russia: list
The five largest carriers are as follows:
- Aeroflot. It is not surprising that this organization is also the leader in this rating. The oldest airline in Russia works with fifty countries and transports eight and a half million people annually. According to the latest data, the air carrier operates along one hundred and thirty-one routes.
- S7. Every resident of Siberia is familiar with the logo and colors of this company. Every year, two million six hundred thousand people use its services; they fly in eighty-three directions. With this airline, passengers can travel inside the country and fly to foreign resorts.
- Utair. Everyone knows that the airline will survive a crisis that lasts for several years. But even he did not affect the rating of the airline. The significantly reduced UTair fleet now numbers sixty liners, which annually carry one million six hundred thousand passengers on domestic and international routes.
- Ural Airlines. This organization is actively building up its positions; it owns thirty-seven fairly new aircraft. All passengers note a high level of comfort during the flight and delicious hot meals, which are provided on long-distance routes.
- "Russia". We already wrote about this airline in the previous rating, where it ranked second in reliability. The passenger flow of one million three hundred thousand people allowed Russia to enter the list of the largest air carriers in the country.
Russian Airlines, list: rating of the most low-cost carriers
Numerous low-cost airlines are very active in Europe, providing passengers with cheap flights, the cost of which includes a minimum package of services on board. Thanks to such companies, even students can afford to travel to different countries.
However, when we tried to make a list of cheap Russian airlines, it turned out that our country could not even boast of two low-cost carriers. Therefore, only one company was included in our rating - Pobeda. This carrier was created three years ago specifically in order to simplify the movement of Russians in our vast country. He replaced the first domestic low-cost airline “Dobrolet”, which did not last long.
Our compatriots in their reviews always note low ticket prices, punctuality and professionalism of employees. Therefore, if you want to relax as cheaply as possible, then purchase tickets for the Victory flights.
Charter flights of Russian air carriers: rating
In the summer season, when passenger traffic increases markedly, charter airlines in Russia become in demand. The list of them is not too extensive, it is represented by only two organizations:
- Azur Air. Danae Airlines has been operating for three years and operates flights for the tour operator Anex. On average, the carrier operates flights on eighteen routes; the average age of aircraft is almost twenty years.
- Royal Flight. This charter originated on the basis of a company mainly engaged in air cargo three years ago. Currently, Royal Flight operates flights for the tour operator Coral Travel. The airline has mastered the Asian direction and several routes to the resorts of Greece.
We hope that with the help of our article it will become much easier for you to navigate in Russian air carriers, and your flight will be comfortable, inexpensive and safe.
Summing up the results of 2017, the Federal Air Transport Agency published brief statistics on the work of the civil aviation of the Russian Federation. Overall picture for the participants russian airlines rating 2018looks good. The air transportation market continues to develop, and almost all of the reliable Russian airlines on the list showed an increase in the number of passengers and flights by an average of 15%. At the same time, the weight of the first five airlines continues to grow. If in 2017 they occupied 67.4% of the total, then in 2018 it is already 85%.
Travel with a reliable tour operator: .
Read also: , the best air carriers of the year according to Skytrax.
Opens the rating of the largest airlines in Russia Nordwind Airlines, it is also the "North Wind". Over the past year, the number of passengers amounted to 3.5 million people and compared with 2016 increased by 95%. Passenger turnover also showed growth, an increase of 44%.
One of the largest charter carriers in Russia, which transported more than 2.2 million passengers in 2017, was summoned to the Federal Air Transport Agency in the summer of 2016 due to constant long-term flight delays up to several tens of hours. The carrier promised to take action. In case of inability to establish regular departures at the exact time, the company faces a restriction on transportation.
Azur Air was a subsidiary of UTair, but two years ago launched into independent navigation. In 2017, the number of passengers of the company amounted to 3.6 million people, almost 2/3 more compared to 2016.
Globus is a member of the S7 Group, being a subsidiary of the Siberian airline giant, which ranked second in the ranking of the best airlines. 2017 was a favorable year for the company - the number of passengers increased by 20.2%, amounting to 4.1 million people.
A subsidiary of Aeroflot, which took over the baton from Dobroleta, which died as a result of sanctions, is positioned as a budget. Although the first tickets for flights of the new airline were sold only two years ago, it confidently entered the top 10 airlines in Russia.
The number of passengers in 2017 amounted to 4.3 million people, an increase of 5% compared to 2016. Despite his youth, the flights of "Victory" have already gained scandals. User dissatisfaction is caused by the policy of silence of the real price of the flight, the requirements to pay for the opportunity to sit together with families, flight delays and cases where more tickets are sold than the number of seats.
Ural Airlines ranked fifth in the ranking of Russian airlines in 2018, having transported 7.5 million people in 2017, showing an increase of 25%. In the meantime, the company requires the Federal Air Transport Agency to pay for the transportation of WWII veterans to celebrate Victory Day in 2015. Rosaviatsia rejected the application for payment, complaining that it did not contain the words “including VAT” and other points of the same degree of importance.
The owner of the world's largest operating helicopter fleet, it seems, has recovered from the crisis of late 2014. In 2017, the number of passengers carried by this company amounted to 6.8 million people, an increase of 9.1% compared to 2016.
The second subsidiary airline of the giant Aeroflot, which entered the top ten of the rating of Russian airlines in 2018, transported more than 10.6 million people last year, showing an impressive increase in the number of passengers by 41.5% - the highest of the airlines participating in the rating. At the same time, the passenger turnover increased by 55.3%.
Siberia is in second place in the rating of the largest airlines in Russia, it is also S7 Airlines, which carries out transportation to 83 destinations both in Russia and abroad. Most of the latter, however, are served by partner airlines. In total, 9.3 million passengers were transported in 2017.
The Russians continue to fly Aeroflot airplanes. In 2017, the company transported more than 30.5 million people, outstripping the runner-up in Siberia by more than 3 times in terms of this indicator. Not surprisingly, Aeroflot is the largest and oldest Russian airline that has been carrying passengers since 1923. Although the company was blacklisted in Ukraine, this does not prevent the increase in the number of shipments.
According to criteria such as the number of passengers and passenger turnover, the company over the past year recorded an increase of 12%. By the way Aeroflot can also be called one of the safest airlines in 2018 in Russia - Not a single major plane crash occurred on its lines, considering, of course, subsidiaries and the misfortunes caused by the actions of third parties. In the airline safety rating published in 2017 by the audit company JACDEC, Aeroflot is in 37th place.
World Airlines Safety Rating 2017 (JACDEC)
| Rank | Airline | Country | Carrier code | Safety index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cathay Pacific Airways | China, Hong-Kong | CX, CPA | 0,005 |
| 2 | Air new zealand | New zealand | NZ, ANZ | 0,007 |
| 3 | Hainan airlines | China | Hu chh | 0,009 |
| 4 | Qatar Airways | Qatar | QR, QTR | 0,009 |
| 5 | K L M | Netherlands | KL, KLM | 0,011 |
| 6 | EVA Air | Taiwan | BR, EVA | 0,012 |
| 7 | Emirates | United arab emirates | EK, UAE | 0,013 |
| 8 | Etihad airways | United arab emirates | EY, ETD | 0,014 |
| 9 | QANTAS | Australia | QF, QFA | 0,015 |
| 10 | Japan airlines | Japan | JL, JAL | 0,015 |
| 11 | All nippon airways | Japan | NH, ANA | 0,016 |
| 12 | Lufthansa | Germany | LH, DLH | 0,016 |
| 13 | TAP Portugal | Portugal | TP, TAP | 0,017 |
| 14 | Virgin atlantic airways | United kingdom | VS, VIR | 0,017 |
| 15 | Delta air lines | USA | DL, DAL | 0,018 |
| 16 | Air canada | Canada | AC, ACA | 0,02 |
| 17 | jetBlue Airways | USA | B6, JBU | 0,02 |
| 18 | Virgin australia | Australia | VA, VOZ | 0,02 |
| 19 | British airways | United kingdom | BA, BAW | 0,023 |
| 20 | Air berlin | Germany | AB, BER | 0,023 |
| 21 | Westjet airlines | Canada | WS, WJA | 0,023 |
| 22 | Sichuan airlines | China | 3U, CSC | 0,028 |
| 23 | Norwegian air shuttle | Norway | DY, NAX | 0,032 |
| 24 | Shenzhen airlines | China | ZH, CSZ | 0,032 |
| 25 | Iberia | Spain | IB, IBE | 0,034 |
| 26 | Jetstar airways | Australia | JQ, JST | 0,036 |
| 27 | Southwest airlines | USA | WN, SWA | 0,037 |
| 28 | Easyjet | United kingdom | U2, EZY | 0,037 |
| 29 | Airasia | Malaysia | AK, AXM | 0,043 |
| 30 | Thomson airways | United kingdom | BY, TOM | 0,047 |
| 31 | United airlines | USA | UA, UAL | 0,051 |
| 32 | Singapore Airlines | Singapore | SQ, SIA | 0,051 |
| 33 | China Eastern Airlines | China | MU, CES | 0,061 |
| 34 | Ryairair | Ireland | FR, RYR | 0,064 |
| 35 | Swiss | Switzerland | LX, SWR | 0,064 |
| 36 | Latam chile | Chile | LA, LAN | 0,095 |
| 37 | Aeroflot | Russia | SU, AFL | 0,101 |
| 38 | Jet airways | India | 9W, JAI | 0,109 |
| 39 | Alitalia | Italy | AZ, AZA | 0,113 |
| 40 | Air india | India | AI, AIC | 0,115 |
| 58 | Garuda indonesia | Indonesia | GA, GIA | 0,77 |
| 59 | Avianca colombia | Colombia | AV, AVA | 0,914 |
| 60 | China airlines | Taiwan | CI, CAL | 0,977 |
Airlines - they have existed for a very long time and recently a huge number of small companies that provide flight services have appeared. People are already used to traveling by air, but despite this great experience, the question often arises as to which airline is better.
Ticket price and food on the plane
People are used to choosing an airline precisely for this indicator, but few people wonder where this price comes from and why we pay so expensive or cheap. Many save on everything, just to buy a cheaper ticket, absolutely not thinking that their life can depend on the quality of the company.
It’s worth overpaying for the name of the airline, because our safety and our life depend on it. Of course, it depends on which airline. There are airlines that are not sorry to overpay, because you know for sure that they are guaranteed to take you where you need to be safe and sound. Personally, I am ready to overpay for such airlines as China Airlines, Aeroflot, Dragon Air.
Man from the forum
Cheap flight (Economy class) may not include food at all, even for the money you can’t buy anything on board such an aircraft. In middle-class flights, it becomes possible to choose food from several options, and there is also the opportunity to order something extra, such as coffee or tea. 
In the most expensive and comfortable flights (business class or first-class) there is an opportunity to order food from a full menu and not even one. For example, there are separate menus for vegetarian food or for children. Personal preferences are also taken into account, for example, food can be made less oily.
How to save money on airlines
It has already been written above that not only your comfort, but also life can depend on the quality and cost of the company, so before you cut your budget for flights you need to look at the average cost of all the airlines available to you and not lower the budget below this level. 
This is very important because companies providing extremely cheap flights may not meet many basic requirements. In them, in principle, there may be no middle or first class.
Type of aircraft
Of course, additional services and the name of the airline are very important indicators, but they absolutely do not matter if you are flying on a small and old plane.
Good to know. If there are ashtrays on the armrests of the plane, the flight attendant is drawn on the call button and the monitors are not mounted in the seats, then you are clearly flying in the old model of the plane.
At the moment, one of the largest flight companies in Russia - Aeroflot, uses a Boeing 767 or newer models. Its maximum capacity is 235 people and it can correspond to all the above classes. 
Many large airlines can replace Boeing with IL-62 without warning, the flight quality and ticket price will not change, but many unprepared people are very surprised. 
Also, Tu-204 aircraft, about which there are positive rumors and Airbus A-310, which are very large in size, can be used for flights.
Service on airplanes
In all popular airlines, the level of service is almost at the same level. Air conditioning, a video and audio system with headphones, and three meals a day are all part and parcel of a good flight.
In some companies, for example, Transaero, it is possible to choose between two types of economy class. There is a premium economy class and tourist economy class, you can learn more about each from the company itself.
I flew on Aeroflot and Transaero more than once and I can say with full confidence that the first class at Aeroflot is much better. Although Transaero probably fits perfectly for economy flights, none of my friends have complained.
Man from the forum
Airline Reliability
If your budget is very limited, additional services are not important for you and you need to fly away urgently, then you still need to pay attention to the reliability of the airline.
Recently, even large companies are increasingly subject to sanctions, one of such situations can be viewed on visual infographics. 
It is also worth considering the possible problems associated with the low price:
- A small number of aircraft. At the slightest malfunction, the plane does not have the right to release into the air, they happen quite often and large companies simply allocate another plane so as not to delay the flight.
But small and cheap companies cannot allow this, so there is a possibility of a delay of several hours or even a whole day. Well, and of course, completely unscrupulous companies can put you on a faulty plane, which is a very strict violation of the law.
- Outdated aircraft models. If a small company has enough aircraft, they are likely to be of very low quality (old or refurbished used)
- No equipment on the plane. There will be no air conditioning, no audio, no video. For several hours of flight, you can forget about them.
- Food and drinks. If they will be sold, then at a clearly inflated price, which, most likely, will not suit you if you chose a similar class of flight.
- Departure time. It will almost always be extremely inconvenient, because, as mentioned above, such companies have very few aircraft.
- The airport is far from the city. You will have to spend additional money on a transfer, of course, you can also hitchhiking, but this is not suitable for everyone and not in every country.
- Returning or exchanging a ticket is almost impossible. There are probably a few very persistent people who managed to do this. Almost always, small airlines fight to the last just not to give back the money you paid.
Video about choosing an airline
This video will demonstrate the scale of one of the best and largest airline company in Russia.
Conclusion
When choosing an airline you need to understand well what level of service you need and how much money you are willing to spend on it. When choosing a cheap airline, be sure to read reviews and focus on the quality of aircraft.
The reality of modern life is such that time now costs more than money. And everyone wants to save as much of this precious time as possible. It is clear that when leaving on vacation or on a business trip, a person seeks to save his time in order to spend it with benefit for himself and others. And the fastest way to travel today is airplanes. A person travels thousands of kilometers in just one day. No other transport allows you to do this. This means that the problems and development of passenger aviation concern a large part of the population. And of course, that a person wants to overcome airspace as comfortably, quickly and reliably as possible. And accordingly, you need to deal only with trusted and reliable airlines.
Just a couple of decades ago, there were no problems with choosing an airline and with flights. Just because there was nothing to choose from. And of course, there was nothing good about it. People simply had no choice, as there was no competition among carriers. And when there is healthy competition, companies strive to improve the quality of services and make prices more affordable.
Of course, when the choice becomes too large, the person is lost and does not know what is better to choose. Especially, people are in a hurry during the summer holidays when they want to spend as much time as possible on vacation. And if the air carrier goes bankrupt at the most inopportune moment? Then sit all vacation somewhere on the edge of geography, instead of basking in the warm sand? To prevent this from happening, you need to carefully approach.
Choosing a good airline
Of course, reputable companies are well-known to everyone and you hear about them almost every day. But, even the best and most trusted companies were once not popular and not tested. They also resorted to various marketing moves to attract customers. And if you have an inexpensive ticket on hand, then you can take on some risk and fly a young company. Of course, if you have an expensive ticket on hand, you should not risk it, for this there will be a more convenient case.
Of course, reliable statistics are unlikely to be collected for certain flights and destinations. After all, there is always a factor of unpredictability: the weather or some unforeseen breakdowns can go bad. But still, progress does not stand still, and flying modern airplanes is much safer than, for example, twenty years ago. And consumer confidence in a particular airline increases if the carrier has many aircraft. Indeed, in the event of the slightest malfunction, the aircraft can quickly be replaced. And there will be no big problems with the flight delay. You can not say about young companies that have only a few pieces of equipment.
Of course, you can judge the carrier and the comfort of an airplane. A good airline should take care of its customers, and provide top-level services.
Yes, sometimes even nowadays it is not always possible to choose the right airline. Flights from small airports are mainly carried out by regional carriers, and there is no particular choice here. Well, you can’t get away from this and you need to take what they give, or look for an alternative to airspace.
Which daily carried out more than one thousand flights. In order to attract as many customers as possible, each carrier resorts to one way or another, someone tries to offer the highest level of service, and someone reduces the airfare to a minimum.
How to decide among a large number of offers, which airline to prefer? In this we will try to help you.
So, choosing an air carrier, pay attention to the following points and characteristics.
Level of service at the airport and on board
Before requesting services from a particular airline, take an interest in how often flights of this carrier are delayed or canceled due to the fault of the company itself.
Today, some airlines are in a very unpleasant economic situation, some of them have already been banned from working, while others are waiting in line. Therefore, take an interest in the reputation of the organization on whose plane you are going to fly, otherwise you may end up in a very unpleasant situation.
Note that today in the aviation services market there are a large number of budget companies that are all using available means to try to reduce the cost of air tickets as much as possible so that they become available to more consumers. Therefore, such companies quite often experience flight delays, but this is not related to their economic or other problems.
It is also worth paying attention to the level of service on board. Almost on every flight you can buy an air ticket of one of the three classes of service - economy, business and the first, however, despite their general approximate characteristics, the quality of service in different airlines within the selected class remains different. This largely depends on the professionalism of employees, as well as on the requirements of the company that it makes to its staff.
Technical equipment and condition of aircraft, fleet of aircraft
You must admit that flying on new, modern airliners is much more comfortable and enjoyable, moreover, it’s subconsciously also calmer than on old planes that have been flying for twenty years.
The pluses of the new liners can also be attributed to the fact that they have much better equipment, a modern interior, many modern technical devices - on board there are TVs, the Internet, a telephone and other entertainment devices. In addition, new cars are less energy intensive, they have lower fuel consumption, and besides, they are faster and faster.
For example, the fleets of low-cost airlines mainly consist of new airliners, since much less money needs to be spent on their maintenance, as well as on fuel.
Additional amenities and services
Every day, airplanes of various companies make many flights, often in the same direction, in order to attract as many customers as possible, carriers try to offer passengers the maximum number of additional services.
So, many customers welcome the availability of the Internet and telephone on board, as many passengers make flights as part of business trips, and at the same time they constantly need to stay in touch and continue professional activities.
During long flights, many are concerned about the presence on board, for each passenger, blankets and pillows, so that you can relax comfortably. Others are attracted by a wide variety of dishes and drinks, including alcohol.
Some airlines, in an effort to outdo their competitors, go so far as to even organize a real casino on board.