Clients boycott Aviasales service due to anti-Russian behavior
A large airline ticket sales service, Aviasales, found itself at the center of a scandal after publishing an advertising photo collage on Russia Day.
The advertisement, which appeared on social media on May 12, featured photographs of tourist buses from France, Spain and Germany. They are contrasted with a Russian paddy wagon, into which detained protesters – participants in Alexei Navalny’s unauthorized rally – were “packed.”
Social media users were outraged by this comparison and announced a boycott of the service.
“You have lost me as a client. All my family and friends. But it was a good site,” said Moldovan political scientist Vladimir Bucarsky.
“It’s great that you told me what a piece of shit you are before I bought anything through you. I hope your garbage disposal business will not last long,” writes Mikhail Tolchelnikov.
Not only some clients, but also partners refused the service.
“Although I am far from the travel business, in the ten hours since the publication of this “congratulations” I have learned that three travel agencies have already removed all your services from their websites,” adds Sergei Panteleichuk.
“Well, what can I say... Politicizing a completely successful business is something new in marketing. As I see from the comments, many appreciated it. One thing is good, having shown yourself from a new and far from the best side, you can have an idea of your sanity and, as a result, reliability. Despite the fact that on my desktop there are several shortcuts to the same aggregators as yours, I use them periodically, although more often I buy tickets directly from airlines. But now, I’m leaving without regret. I would recommend the same to my friends,” states Vadim Plotnikov.
The Aviasales service was founded in 2007 by Russian traveler Konstantin Kalinov. The company's office is located in Thailand. After Kalinov’s death in 2017, Russians Maxim Krainov and Anton Baitsura are leading the projects. In his blog, Krainov notes that he is a supporter of liberal values and does not accept “authoritarianism.”
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