A Russian low-cost airline has tested a humanoid robot as an inflight assistant, drawing global attention and raising questions about the future of service roles in aviation.
Pobeda Airlines, a subsidiary of Aeroflot, operated its first flight with “Volodya”, an AI-powered humanoid robot, on 12 November. The robot accompanied the crew on a domestic service from Moscow Vnukovo (VKO) to Ulyanovsk Baratayevka (ULV), greeting passengers at the gate and onboard before mimicking parts of the inflight safety demonstration.
Equipped with reinforcement-learning technology designed to copy the movements of real flight attendants, Volodya interacted with passengers throughout the journey. Videos circulated online show the robot waving, gesturing through the safety demo and posing for photos — though it did not perform any practical duties such as service or cabin safety tasks.
Aviation analysts said the test appeared to be more of a publicity exercise than a serious operational trial. The robot resembles the G1 model from China’s Unitree Robotics, and its presence onboard was limited to scripted or pre-programmed interactions.
The experiment has nonetheless sparked debate about automation in the skies. Some observers raised concerns about the eventual impact of robotics on cabin crew roles, while others dismissed the trial as a light-hearted stunt.
Airlines already use automated safety videos, but replacing human cabin crew raises significant regulatory and safety hurdles. Most experts argue that cabin operations will be among the last areas where robotics might replace humans, given the importance of communication, judgement and emergency response.
The timing of the trial is notable: Russia’s aviation sector has struggled to maintain and modernise fleets under Western sanctions, but has continued experimenting with novel technologies.
While AI and automation are increasingly used in aviation planning, maintenance and airport operations, analysts say full robotic cabin crew are a long way off. “Greeters” like Volodya may remain curiosities rather than crew members — at least for now.