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Aeroflot Offers 20% Discount Through SkyTeam Alliance

An Aeroflot aircraft takes to the skies.

Aeroflot is offering discounts of up to 20 percent on domestic flights to 30 cities for members of the SkyTeam global airline alliance starting next week.

The so-called Go Russia Pass goes on sale May 2 and allows travelers to purchase three to 16 flight coupons on flights originating outside Russia and passing through Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, SkyTeam said in a statement.

Fares will be calculated on the number of kilometers flown nonstop and can amount to savings of 20 percent off standard prices, it said.

"With the Russian economy continuing to perform strongly, the Go Russia Pass has been designed to meet the demand for increased travel within the country," SkyTeam official Alfredo Frassoni said in a statement. "The majority of SkyTeam airlines fly to Moscow, and the Go Russia Pass enables customers to visit multiple cities in one trip, maximizing the potential for business travel and tourism."  

Cities included in the discounted fare include St. Petersburg, Surgut, Tyumen, Nizhny Novgorod and Vladivostok.

Aeroflot joined SkyTeam — which eases bookings involving more than one airline and offers members a system of bonuses — in 2006 after four years of negotiations. One stipulation for membership was that Aeroflot upgrade its hub at Sheremetyevo Airport by October 2007. After extensive delays, the first Aeroflot flight departed from Sheremetyevo's new Terminal D in November 2009.

SkyTeam's 15 members are: Aeroflot, Aeroméxico, Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, TAROM and Vietnam Airlines.

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