OREANDA-NEWS. August 16, 2010. This year's one-millionth passenger embarked on a Ural Airlines plane. It happened to be Valeriy Pilichev, 30, assistant professor of the Innovative Management Department at Ural Federal University.

Valeriy had booked the trip to Moscow just a few hours before the flight: business negotiations called for his urgent presence in the capital. Valeriy had no baggage to give in, so he checked in at a self-service kiosk without any queues, and, unsuspicious that he had just become the millionth, quietly went to the waiting lounge. To keep up suspense, the organizers were in no hurry to announce the lucky one's name. Passengers were being treated to wine and refreshments, and a surprise had been prepared as a warmup: before the official ceremony, there was a sudden change of music in the lounge, and one of the passengers began to dance. He was joined by a couple of people at the other end of the lounge. After a few seconds, the number of dancing people grew exponentially. Dozens of people were dancing in the lounge, right between the benches. That came as a real surprise. Alleged "hostess", "policeman", middle-aged gentleman, modest girls partied it to popular tunes, surrounded by all who were waiting for their flight.

All of a sudden the music stopped, and Aleksey Fomin, Ural Airlines Deputy General Director, announced the lucky passenger's name. Valeriy had never hit a lottery or the like. The airline gave its millionth a ticket to Rome and a photo camera to capture the unexpected vacation, which Valeriy wants to spend in Italy together with his wife Masha and little daughter.

"Every year, the millionth passenger's day comes earlier," Aleksey Fomin said. "We hope that we'll carry TWO million during this year: we have launched dozens of new scheduled flights, including those to Moscow - from Novosibirsk, Novokuznetsk and Irkutsk. Destinations for business passengers are a priority in the development plans of the Ural Airlines route network."