Russia was always a Mafia country, even in the Communist era. Information was suppressed then, thats all!

The USSR was a terrible country and the Soviet grip on the economy was non existent, so to move from that to a free market overnight simply will not work. That is why they need a strong leader to move things in the right direction. I think Russia will slowly become more regulated, but the power of the “oligarchs” is still pervasive and runs counter to any reform or regulatory instinct.

It is a valid argument which Mixtec made, that the only reason the black market is so dominant is because it is more efficient than the official market. As market efficiency increases the role of the black market will decline, but this will only be achieved by a politically strong leader….Putin. By contrast, Yeltsin was about the worst leader the Russians could have elected!

Agreed he is slowly moving Russia in the right direction, but it will take 20-30 years before his country is doing really well.

Problems such as low reputation, corruption, crime and the mafia are issues which will take generations to solve. I am not convinced the ball is even moving a little on these issues, though Putin has done well in other areas – diplomacy, national debt and moderate currency stability.

The one other snag is his powers – he is a very powerful man, more like a King than a President. He more or less rules by decree, and this will need to change. But that’s a Catch 22 – unless someone like him can take command and imprint some desire for momentum on the country, Russia will go nowhere.

As far as I know, yes. Some planes have economy and some have business. Actually I would have thought biz class would be comfier in the main cabin, as upstairs isn’t quite so roomy.

No, economy in a 3+3 configuration.

This may be a silly question…

Is it only BA, or do other airlines use the term “purser” as well?

I’ve heard it used on ships before, but not on airlines other than BA. Ofv course I may have simply not noticed…

Anyway, now IC will use A320s on there S.E.Asian routes, and these flights take upto 5 hours, i will not like to sit in a A320 for 5 damn hours, they got this idea from British Med. i think, which also operate medium long-haul with A320s.

Why?

The seat pitch and elbow room are the same/better than an A300 and the IFE is presumably better.

So lets agree to a groundrule then:

The person starting a topic can post what they like, but respondents should only post either tiny pics or else post a link instead.

Update – it is now quite usable following release of the latest update.