Aeroflot's replacement for low-cost airline Dobrolyot, grounded in August by Western sanctions over Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis, will fly to eight destinations starting this winter, Russian news agency Interfax reported Wednesday.
The replacement, simply called Budget Carrier, added three more eastern destinations to its routes on Wednesday — Tyumen, Surgut and Kazan — as well as Belgorod, on Ukraine's northern border. Budget Carrier will also fly to Samara, Perm, Ufa and Volgograd, Aeroflot representatives announced in August.
Dobrolyot rebranded itself as Budget Carrier in mid-September, though the company's CEO and registration address remain the same. The airline will be based out of Sheremetyevo Airport's Terminal B until Feb. 28, 2015.
In July the EU imposed sanctions on Dobrolyot because it operated flights to Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in March. These sanctions subsequently derailed the company's plans to lease Boeing 737 airplanes based in Ireland, an EU member, and the company stopped operations after less than two months of service. Budget Carrier will now sublease the Boeing 737s from Aeroflot, which owns 100 percent of the company.
