A Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 in Aeroflot livery sits on the tarmac ahead of the Farnborough Airshow 2012.LUKE MACGREGOR/Reuters
Russian's state-controlled airline Aeroflot has cancelled all its direct flights to Canada, citing weak sales as the reason.
The airline, which only resumed direct flights from Moscow to Toronto's Pearson airport this past spring after several years' absence, will no longer fly the route as of Oct. 26.
Aeroflot director-general Vitaly Savelyev said on Friday that "the flight did not bring sufficient profit ... so, we closed it," according to a report from the Tass news agency.
According to the Aeroflot website, until Oct. 26 the airline will continue to fly the Toronto-Moscow route three times a week.
A spokeswoman at the Russian embassy in Ottawa said the decision was made by the company, and the Russian government had nothing to do with it.
Airline consultant Robert Kokonis, president of AirTrav Inc., said he doubted the decision was directly related to the tension between Canada and Russia prompted by sanctions related to the situation in the Ukraine. He noted, however, it is likely there is less business travel between the two countries as a result of the sanctions, and that has probably cut into Aeroflot's profits on the route.
"The management of Aeroflot has been trying to run it like a profitable business," Mr. Kokonis said, so he believes it was likely a commercial decision.
He noted that there are many other ways to get to Moscow from Canada, through a variety of connecting destinations in Europe, so there is a lot of competition for travellers. "It is not like Aeroflot is the only game in town."
According to the Tass report, another Russian airline, Transaero, also cancelled its flights from Moscow to Toronto earlier in September.
A spokeswoman for the department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development said: "This is a private commercial matter. We do not comment on private commercial matters."