Babyflot is the informal name given to any airline in the former Soviet Union created in the early 1990s from the dissolution of Aeroflot as part of the breakup of the Soviet Union. The word is a portmanteau of baby and Aeroflot (compare Baby Bells).
There were between 300 and 800 Babyflots, with many being single-plane operations, while international routes were operated separately as Aeroflot—Russian International Airlines (ARIA).[1][2] By 1994, many Babyflots were bankrupt, hampered by a lack of capital and a poor economy, which in turn led to abysmal safety records. These safety issues had become so endemic to the "Babyflot" airlines that in 1994 the International Air Transport Association took the unusual step of recommending trains for people traveling the former Soviet Union, as it was considered the least life-threatening form of conveyance.[3]
In 1998, Russia had 315 airlines but expected the number to drop to 8 federal air carriers and 40 to 45 regional airlines by 2000 as the government began restricting licensing and certification and bring air-safety standards into compliance with international standards.[4]
List of notable Babyflots
Some Babyflots are now flag carriers of former Soviet countries, such as Uzbekistan Airlines.
Further reading
- Tavernise, Sabrina. "TRAVEL ADVISORY: CORRESPONDENT'S REPORT; Aeroflot Without Fear In Today's Russia." The New York Times. October 20, 2002.
External links
- "Russia Says 'Babyflot' Era is Over" Moscow Times. Saturday January 17, 1998.
- S7: Bringing Siberia Airlines In From The Cold
- An Open Letter to AeroSvit, Ukrainian Airlines
- DK World Reports RUSSIA
- https://russianplanes.net/Aeroflot
References
- DISSECTING THE AEROFLOT BREAKUP Chicago Tribune, December 11, 1994^
- Andrew E. Kramer. Natalia Fileva, Leader in Russia’s ‘Babyflot’ Airlines, Dies at 55 The New York Times, April 3, 2019^
- Do Russian airlines still have a safety problem?