Aeroflot (SU, Moscow Sheremetyevo) management and airline employee trade unions have successfully concluded negotiations that extend the collective bargaining agreement currently in place for the period 2014 through 2017.

Despite the challenging economic environment in Russia, the parties involved agreed to maintain all benefits, subsidies and guarantees included in the prevailing collective agreement.

"Aeroflot and the trade unions have agreed to extend the most generous benefits package in the industry for our employees. We are particularly pleased to reach this agreement through mutually respectful dialogue, thus avoiding the kinds of interruption to service that customers of our European peers have faced in recent years," Aeroflot CEO, Vitaly Saveliev, said.

The current agreement, which will remain in force through December 1, 2017, has provision for a wide range of benefits including 42 days of annual paid leave; medical care; paid holidays at select resorts throughout Russia, the CIS and Eastern Europe; indexed wages; company cars; and non-state pensions among others. To date, the expenses incurred by Aeroflot to maintain these benefits exceeds RUB3billion (USD72million) annually.