New discount air firm starts flights on domestic routes.

MOSCOW, August 27 (Itar-Tass) - A new discount air company - Avianova - starts regular flights on domestic lines. Its first airliner departs from Moscow's Vnukovo airport for Sochi on Thursday at 11.40.

"We have two A-3220-200 airliners with a 12-year service life. It is
planned to put into service another two similar jetliners by the
year-end," Itar-Tass learnt from company spokeswoman Viktoria Afonina.
Avianova will start flights to Rostov-on-Don on August 29; a day later
planes will begin flying to Krasnodar; and on September 1, the company
will start service on the Moscow-Samara route.
According to Afonina, ticket sales for Avianova flights started on
August 12 and within the week "all those who wished, could purchase
tickets at the basic tariff of 250 roubles without taking into account
charges". However, the cost of tickets for August 27 to Sochi jumped up
to 3,000 roubles on Wednesday on the condition of ordering them through
the Internet site, which is slightly less than at other carriers.
As for tickets at the basic tariff of 250 roubles plus charges, they
could be purchased on Wednesday, August 26, for flights, departing no
sooner than mid-October. "Company passengers are offered meals, tea,
coffee and soft beverages, but for a separate pay," the spokeswoman said,
noting that passengers can ask only drinking water free aboard an airliner.
Avianova will be the second Russian discount air company. The date of
ticket reservation is the key factor, determining the policy of pricing
for the company: the earlier the passenger buys the ticket, the cheaper
its cost.

.Donations collected for victims of Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP.

NOVOSIBIRSK, August 27 (Itar-Tass) - Some two million roubles have
been collected over the three days that passed after the start of
collecting donations for victims of the disaster at the
Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower plant.
The press service of the Khakassia government reported on Wednesday
that private persons, organisations and industrial enterprises transfer
money to a special bank account in the republic. "A total of 55,000
roubles were transferred to the account on the first day, August 23;
transferred money totalled 87,200 roubles the next day and 1,160,000
roubles on August 25. The total sum of receipts on the account amounted to
1,302,000 roubles as of last Wednesday," the press service reported.
At the same time, 700,000 roubles of voluntary contributions were
received by the Sozidanie (Creation) Fund within the charity programme of
the RusGidro Company "We are with you, Sayany ! (Eds: Sayany Mountains
where Sayano-Shushinskaya hydropower station was built)".
Disaster victims receive donations not only from their fellow
countrymen, but also from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk and
Norilsk. Donations from residents of those cities range from 40 to 10,000
roubles. Enterprises and offices that transferred money to the account
include regional agencies of federal departments, the government of the
Khakassia Republic, shops and a car repair centre.
RusGidro started paying compensations to families of the deceased -
one million roubles each. The company board will examine the question over
the next few days on boosting the size of compensations to families of the
deceased to five million roubles. Their housing problems will be settled
during this autumn.
Bank credits which the victims had before the disaster, will be paid
up.
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