Russian carrier Aeroflot returns to profit against economy headwinds

Moscow: Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot on Monday announced it had returned to profit in the third quarter, shrugging off the impact of the country’s economic crisis with a boost in sales and market share.

The state-owned airline, which is a member of the SkyTeam alliance along with Air France-KLM, reported net profits of 5.4 billion roubles ($80.9 million, Dh297.8 billion) between July and September, compared to a loss in the same period last year of 1.7 billion roubles. The airline’s turnover was up 38 per cent at 133 billion roubles, with passenger numbers up for domestic flights but also due to changes linked to the falling rouble.