Russian Airline resumes direct flights to Alaska

Russia’s Yakutia regional airline will resume in summer direct flights between Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia’s Far East and Anchorage in Alaska, a regional government official said on Tuesday. Direct flights to Alaska stopped in 2005 because of the dwindling passenger turnover but the recent revival of tourist business in Russia’s Far East sparked a new demand for convenient air transportation services. “The flights on board Boeing 737-700 aircraft will be carried out every Thursday from July 12 to September 13,” Minister of Investments and Business Development of the Kamchatka Territory Oksana Gerasimova said. According to the minister, tickets will be sold through tour operators, at Yakutia offices in Russia and at InterPacific Aviation and Marketing offices in the United States. The price for a return ticket starts at 36,800 rubles ($1,147). Local authorities estimate the demand for bear hunting and salmon fishing on the Kamchatka Peninsula at about 2,500 individual tours per season. Each tour could cost up to dozens of thousands of dollars, depending on the variety of activities. Kamchatka residents will also benefit from the resumption of direct flights to Alaska as a growing number of local students become enrolled at U.S. high schools and universities, and the regional business exchanges are on the rise.