Russia’s antimonopoly watchdog may demand Aeroflot sell part of its airline routes

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) finds it necessary to oblige Russia’s flagship carrier Aeroflot to sell part of its airline routes - both domestic and foreign - in the next two years, head of the service Igor Artemyev told reporters. On Tuesday, it was announced that Aeroflot would buy 75% in Transaero air carrier. "We really should give our consent to this transaction, since about 50% of the market is in the hands of Aeroflot. This is not a tragedy, although it is already a signal for us [as an antimonopoly watchdog -TASS]. We may set some structural requirements - namely we may ask Aeroflot to sell some of its routes, where it acquires a monopoly position as a result of the merger with Transaero.