Pobeda: aircraft and routesPobeda: aircraft and routes

History and development

Pobeda operated its first flights on December 1, 2014 and became a low-cost carrier of the Aeroflot Group. Its model assumes a basic tariff and a separate payment for some additional services.

The first line of the new brand connected Vnukovo and Volgograd. Pobeda appeared after the completion of the project of another low-budget carrier of the group - "Dobroleta" - and took a separate price niche in the group.

Sales to the first six destinations from Moscow began in November 2014, shortly before the first flight. The quick start was due to the already established idea of a separate budget carrier within the Aeroflot group.

Pobeda inherited the task of budget transportation after stopping another project of the group - "Dobrolet". Already in November 2014, ticket sales began on several lines from Moscow, and less than a month later the first flight took place. Later, the program went beyond Russia: among the early foreign cities were Bratislava and Bergamo.

The development of Pobeda shows how quickly a separate budget brand can grow within a large group. After the launch of Moscow flights, the company added destinations in the regions and abroad. Already in 2017, it transported the ten-millionth passenger from the beginning of work, although the park remained the same type according to the main model of the aircraft.

Milestones

• 2014: The new budget project of Aeroflot Group was named Pobeda after the flight stoppage of Dobrolet.
• November 2014: tickets to the first six destinations from Moscow went on sale before the start of regular flights.
• December 1, 2014: the first plane of the company flew from Vnukovo to Volgograd.
• 2015: International expansion began, including flights to Bratislava and Bergamo.
• 2016: to the flight to Cologne offered ground transfer on a single ticket Fly&Bus to neighboring cities.

Route networks

Pobeda operates flights between Russian cities and on available international destinations. For such a network, the high frequency of aircraft use and understandable standard procedures on the ground and in flight are important.

Moscow Vnukovo has become the main starting point of many routes. The network is supplemented by flights between regions; the set of available destinations changes with the season and schedule, so the history of the route network can not be taken as an actual flight map.

In 2015, the company went beyond the internal network: among the first international destinations were Bratislava and Bergamo. These historical flights show how the model of short flights was applied to European cities.

Moscow was an important node, but not the only logic of the network. In the schedules of different years, direct regional lines appeared without a change in the capital. This allowed flights between cities to be faster when demand covered a separate route; the specific set of such lines varied with the season and the availability of airports.

Aircraft and features

The company uses a Boeing 737-800. Working with one type of aircraft simplifies the preparation of crews, maintenance and planning of the turnover of boards; the composition of services depends on the chosen tariff.

The low-cost model means that the passenger himself chooses the necessary options beyond the basic transportation. For example, the conditions for baggage, seat selection and ticket change should be seen in the rules of the specific tariff before purchase.

By the summer of 2017, the total passenger traffic of Pobeda reached ten million people. For the same type of fleet Boeing 737-800, such dynamics meant intensive use of aircraft, so the exact time of transfer and fare conditions are especially important when planning a trip.

A single type of Boeing 737-800 helps to keep similar layout and procedures on different routes. At the same time, the ticket price does not describe the entire set of services: the norms of hand luggage, baggage and the choice of place depend on the terms of purchase. The history of the company includes combined solutions: for a flight to Cologne, a bus transfer to neighboring German cities was offered.

The low-budget model is based on the separation of the transportation itself and additional options. The passenger pays for what is required by him, but compare the prices of different companies should be after taking into account the luggage, choosing a seat and the rules for changing the ticket. The historic Fly&Bus experiment showed another way to expand the available geography without opening a new airport.