OJSC Aeroflot – Russian Airlines (Russian: ОАО «Аэрофло́т-Росси́йские авиали́нии», OAO Aeroflot-Rossiyskiye avialinii) (MICEX:AFLT RTS:AFLT), commonly known as Aeroflot (Russian: Аэрофлот, English translation: "air fleet"), is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year. Aeroflot operates domestic and international passenger services covering a network of 97 cities in 48 countries, mainly from its hub at Sheremetyevo International Airport.
Headquartered in Arbat District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, Aeroflot is one of the oldest airlines in the world, tracing its history back to 1923. In 1956, it became the first airline to successfully operate regular jet airliner services with the Tupolev Tu-104.
During the Soviet era, Aeroflot was the Soviet national airline and the largest airline in the world. Following the dissolution of the USSR, Aeroflot has been transformed from a state-run enterprise into a semi-privatised airline which ranks amongst the most profitable in the world. Aeroflot is still considered the de facto national airline of Russia. It is 51%-owned by the Russian Government, as of June 2011[update]. The company completely owns Donavia since early 2007, when it boosted its participation in the Rostov-on-Don–based airline —then-named Aeroflot-Don— from 51% to 100%.
