Aeroflot-Russian International Airlines enjoyed a 15 percent increase in passenger traffic during the first half of the year despite negative publicity over their March Airbus crash that raised fears of safety shortcomings.


General director Vladimir Tikhonov told a press conference that more passengers and increased efficiency led revenues that were 10 percent higher for the first six months of 1994 than for the same period last year.


"We have succeeded in stabilizing our financial activities, and for the first half of this year we had an income of 900 billion rubles ($425 million)," said Tikhonov, who took over as general director at the beginning of summer.


Despite the turmoil in Russian aviation, Aeroflot -- which flies only the international routes of the former Soviet airline monopoly -- has enjoyed a profit for several years. In 1993, the airline made $190 million.


Despite the openness about its finances, Tikhonov was angered when asked about March's Airbus disaster which killed 75 people en route from Moscow to Hong Kong. A transcript of the crew's final minutes shows that the pilot was giving children a flight lesson shortly before the fatal crash.


"I will not apologize for this to you," he said.