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Good Practice Human Rights
Global Compact International Yearbook 2014 Global Compact International Yearbook 2014
Key measures
When implementing this program,
Transaero takes a comprehensive ap-
proach that includes the following
principles.
1. Transport accessibility
This area is directly related to services
provided by airlines for disabled pas-
sengers. In order to improve the services
provided for passengers with disabili-
ties, Transaero has purchased expen-
sive equipment, for example unique
aviation beds for transporting bedrid-
den patients with severe conditions. To
maintain this equipment, Transaero
sends its technicians along on the flight,
with all expenses covered by the air-
line. In addition, the company provides
disabled passengers with special wheel-
chairs, enabling them to move about
in the cabin on all types of company
aircraft.
Transaero actively implements advanced
technologies to facilitate traveling for
disabled people (mobile check-in, self-
service check-in, etc.). Transaero also
engages its business partners in tack-
ling the transport accessibility problems
of disabled people. In 2011, Transaero
and Moscow Domodedovo airport de-
veloped a corporate standard of service
for disabled people. The standard sets
forth general principles of service that
are offered to disabled people and de-
scribes the travel technology for this
special category of air passenger. The
standard envisages a mandatory program
for training and upgrading the skills of
the airline’s and the airport’s staff when
servicing disabled people.
2. Employee training
All aviation specialists have to attend
the trainings in customer service and
the technologies of transportation used
for people with disabilities. The training
courses meet international standards;
they use special methodology and train-
ing software.
With the support of experts from
Perspektiva, a disabled people’s organi-
zation, the company holds special train-
ings and seminars for the staff to estab-
lish proper communication with clients
with various disabilities. These trainings
are attended not only by Transaero staff
but by the staff of the airport and partner
companies as well.
Trainings are usually arranged in the
Transaero Aviation Training Center. How-
ever, on occasion they are conducted
off-site.
• In anticipation of the Paralympic
Games, Transaero organized trainings
at Sochi International Airport for the
airport staff and the company’s local
employees.
• In April 2014, Transaero organized the
trainings for Pulkovo International
Airport staff in the brand new Pulkovo
Terminal, which has a dedicated space
for Special Assistance, where travelers
with special needs can comfortably wait
for their flights.
3. Information campaign
The information campaign includes
distributing information booklets on
services for disabled people – the target
audience being both the staff and passen-
gers traveling with Transaero. Transaero
seeks to provide disabled people with
information and the best ways to use
it through websites, sale offices, and
recommendations for disabled travelers.
Cooperation with Perspektiva focuses on
still another important area – opera-
tion of the Business Advisory Board on
Disability, which is a unique institution
for Russia. The Board includes Russian
and international companies. The Board
is supported by Perspektiva and works
on matters relating to the adaptation of
services provided by various companies
for disabled clients, the employment
of disabled persons, and other impor-
tant social aspects. The participation
of Transaero in the Business Advisory
Board on Disability enables it to draw
on experiences of civil aviation partners
and colleagues. The cooperation with
Perspektiva is also very instrumental for
Transaero in terms of expert appraisal.
4. Charity programs
Transaero regularly supports social, cul-
tural, and sports events for disabled people.
As a part of its support for sports involving
disabled persons, Transaero provides trans-
portation during some sporting events,
including for the Special Olympic Games,
Paralympic Games, the wheelchair dance
sportsmen, and the annual Dance-a-thon
event (organized by Best Buddies Russia).
Moreover, since 2007, Transaero has been
implementing a global Back to the Future
program dedicated to healthcare assis-
tance for seriously ill children (treatment
and rehabilitation of disabled children
with cancer). Since the launch of the Back
to the Future program, more than 2,000
disabled children have been transported
for medical care purposes, and 1,000
children have undergone rehabilitation
programs.
Company overview
Transaero Airlines is the second-largest
passenger airline in Russia. Transaero
launched its services in November, 1991.
Its fleet consists of 99 aircrafts and it
has the largest long-haul aircraft fleet
in Russia, the CIS, and Eastern Europe.
Transaero serves more than 200 routes
in Russia, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the
Americas. The team of Transaero consists
of over 11,500 employees.
According to the Ministry of Health and
Social Development of the Russian Fed-
eration, there are almost 14.5 million
disabled people in Russia, equaling a
tenth of the country’s population. That
means that the problems of disabled
people concern every fourth family.
In the Russian capital alone, there are
1.2 million disabled people, and most of
them are young with active lives. The
low level of accessibility to transport for
disabled people is a serious problem that
relates not only to the issue of limited
mobility, but also to the ability of peo-
ple to live full lives. The development
of products and services for disabled
people allows the airline to expand this
service offering to other passenger cat-
egories with special needs, for example
the elderly and parents with children.
Transaero Airlines considers tackling
the issues that relate to the mobility of
disabled people as its priority, both in
terms of service quality and its social
policies.
Since 2008, Transaero has been imple-
menting a comprehensive social pro-
gram, the key purposes of which are to
contribute toward improving the quality
of life of disabled people, enhancing
accessibility to transport, and creating
barrier-free environments for disabled
passengers.
Objectives
When implementing the program,
Transaero Airlines set the following
objectives:
• create the maximum level of comfort
for independent travelers with dis-
abilities;
• establish close partnerships with public
associations for disabled people to ap-
praise and improve the standards of
service;
• establish a system of monitoring and
feedback by engaging disabled pas-
sengers who have used the company’s
services;
• arrange an information campaign to
draw public attention to disabled peo-
ple’s problems;
• facilitate independent traveling and
tourism for disabled clients.
Improving the Quality of
Life for Disabled People
TransaeroAirlines
Disabled passengers want to travel and wish to do it on their own. “Our objective is to guar-
antee them their respective right and to do our best to ensure their safety and convenience
when using air transport. This is a comprehensive objective. It is important to combine the
efforts of business, the state, and the non-commercial sector to create a barrier-free environ-
ment for disabled passengers, for whom it is of crucial importance,” says Olga Pleshakova,
Chief Executive Officer, Transaero Airlines.
By Elena Zhuravleva, Transaero Airlines