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- <text id=89TT3036>
- <title>
- Nov. 20, 1989: Business Notes:Perestroika
- </title>
- <history>
- TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1989
- Nov. 20, 1989 Freedom!
- </history>
- <article>
- <source>Time Magazine</source>
- <hdr>
- BUSINESS, Page 76
- Business Notes
- PERESTROIKA
- Coffee, Tea or Camaraderie?
- </hdr><body>
- <p> Not even stand-up comic Yakov Smirnoff could exaggerate the
- absurd reality of flying Aeroflot, the Soviet airline.
- Passengers must endure dismissive ticket agents, brusque cabin
- crews, delays as long as three days and white-knuckle flights
- on ancient jets. As a monopoly, Aeroflot nonetheless carried 120
- million travelers last year, making it the world's largest
- carrier.
- </p>
- <p> But in the latest example of perestroika, a new airline
- called ASDA is being formed to compete with Aeroflot. Staffed
- by Soviet air force veterans and disgruntled Aeroflot pilots,
- the carrier will fly rented Boeing 747s on long-haul routes
- connecting such far-flung points as Kiev, Kamchatka, Moscow and
- Minsk. A straight-faced Soviet news report promised that the new
- airline will raise the level of passenger service. Travelers can
- only hope.
- </p>
-
- </body></article>
- </text>
-
-