Aeroflot plays an active role in society, providing ongoing support to charitable organisations and helping to organise socially important actions. The Company continued to carry out social support programmes in a number of priority areas during the reporting year.
Support for social organisations and vulnerable social groups
Aeroflot was active in providing assistance to victims of the floods in the Russian Far East in 2013. The Company helped to transport and evacuate children from flooded regions, carried volunteers where they were needed (more than 3,000 volunteers in total) and delivered food and medicines.
The Executive Board of JSC Aeroflot resolved to provide financial assistance to the Far East region to alleviate distress in the aftermath of the floods, allocating RUB 10 million for that purpose, and Company employees voluntarily contributed a part of their salaries to the flood victims. A discount of 20% was introduced on all economy-class fares for Aeroflot flights to and from Moscow and the Far East cities of Blagoveshchensk, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The discount remained in effect until the end of 2013 .
In 2013, Aeroflot supported and provided a total of 70 tickets at special prices to the Health of Russia and Quality of Life Foundations, and to children with disabilities.
Charity and sponsorship to help children
Charity and sponsorship for orphanages
Aeroflot provided charity assistance to several Russian orphanages in 2013:
- Payment of utility bills for the Reverend Sergius Residential School (Toporkovo village, Sergiev-Posad district).
- Financing of major repair work on premises at the Pokrov Orphanage (Pokrov, Vladimir Region) and provision of free flights to orphanage children to take part in the Kinotavrik International Arts and Sports Festival.
- Purchase and delivery of stationery for the Children’s Social and Rehabilitation Centre at the Church of the Holy Trinity (Kolomna, Schurovo).
National charity programme ‘The Heart has Two Wings’
In 2013 Aeroflot carried out a unique national charity programme, ‘The Heart has Two Wings’ to enable children with severe and rare immune-system, musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal diseases to obtain highly qualified treatment from the best doctors in Russia.
As part of the programme Aeroflot transported sick children and their carers from all over Russia to Moscow for treatment and then back to their homes. Aeroflot also carried teams of doctors from the Scientific Centre of Children’s Health (part of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences) to remote regions of the country, where they provided treatment and diagnosis of complex diseases. Aeroflot assumed all the costs for transportation of the doctors, children and accompanying adults. The Company, in association with the Scientific Centre of Children’s Health, also organised three trips by teams of doctors to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Kaliningrad.
The action provided vital care to over 400 children with rare diseases in more than 30 regions of Russia.
Miles of Mercy
In 2013 Aeroflot celebrated five years since the start of its Miles of Mercy project, which provides assistance to critically ill children. Members of the Aeroflot Bonus programme contribute their bonus miles to the accounts of charitable organisations taking part in the programme, including the Give Life charity foundation, the Russian Assistance Foundation operated by Kommersant Publishing House, the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation and the Line of Life Foundation.
The contributed miles are used to transport children with oncological illnesses, haematological conditions, conditions of the heart, nervous system, and vestibular system, innate brain and vascular conditions, and cerebral palsy.
A total of 4,983 air tickets were issued for use by charitable foundations in 2013.
Train of Hope
During the reporting year Aeroflot continued its involvement in the national charity campaign Train of Hope, organised by Radio Russia as part of its Child’s Question social project.
The train visits cities where, as statistics show, there are particularly large numbers of parentless children. The purpose of the action is to draw the attention of society, business representatives, government and law-makers to the issue of children without parents, to provide assistance to such children and to organise meetings with potential adopters.
In 2013, Aeroflot provided 55 discounted tickets to project participants.
Support for WWII veterans
Comrades in Arms
Aeroflot carried out its regular Comrades in Arms charity action in 2013, enabling veterans of the Second World War, concentration camp survivors, and survivors of the Siege of Leningrad to travel to Europe and distant Russian cities free of charge to take part in commemorative events. About 3,015 people took advantage of the opportunity in 2013.
Aeroflot also organised a number of celebrations for the Second World War veterans during 2013. The company continues to provide financial assistance to veterans.
Subsidised carriage
In 2013, Aeroflot continued its participation in the government programme for subsidised air transport services to residents of the Russian Far East.
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