Business: Flight of Aeroflot 03

Among the passengers on the Aeroflot Ilyushin-62 jetliner that inaugurated U.S.-Soviet air service last week was TIME Correspondent Jerry Hannifin. Here is his report:

Aeroflot teams had worked on the 122-passenger plane for three weeks. A select crew was picked, including Pilot Boris Egorov, 48, a veteran who holds the rank of Meritorious Flyer of the U.S.S.R. There were also four of the prettiest—all things being relative—stewardesses in Aeroflot's big (248,000 route miles) system. The stewardesses' first names were Maya, Gay, Lena and Natasha.

The flight began at Moscow's modern Sheremetyevo International Airport, where Aeroflot Official Aleksandr Besedin briefly spoke of a "new...

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