The tremendous distances of Russia make plane travel highly desirable if you plan to travel to some of Russia's more far-flung attractions.

By Plane
The tremendous distances of Russia make plane travel highly desirable if you plan to travel to some of Russia's more far-flung attractions. It's worth considering for any destination that is farther than an overnight train ride. Travelling across Russia by train can sound awfully romantic, but it's also time-consuming and rather monotonous. Nearly every major destination of interest has an airport nearby. The great majority of domestic flights are to/from Moscow, but other services exist.

The Russian domestic airline industry had an abominable reputation in the 90s due to uncertain safety records, unreliable timetables, terrible service, uncomfortable airplanes, and substandard airports. Substantial improvements have been made, however. Plane travel in Russia is unlikely to be the highlight of your trip but it has become tolerable.

Aeroflot based at Sheremetyevo airport , Moscow, is Russia's national airline for local Russian and CIS flights and international flights to worldwide cities (Germany, South Korea, US, etc.). Flights from St. Petersburg back into Moscow run only $97 USD (May 2007) and makes this less expensive and less time consuming than taking the train. Note that you will arrive in Terminal 1 (domestic terminal), so if you are flying out of the country, you will have to commute to Terminal 2 (about 5 km and a 15 ruble bus ride). Many international flights and some internal ones are operated by Boeing and Airbus aircraft, in addition to the remaining Soviet-era fleet.
Transaero [15], based at Domodedovo airport . , Moscow (across the city from Sheremetyevo) is an independent airline with Boeing aircraft which operates to major cities in Russia and the CIS, and to a few western destinations.
S7 airlines (ex-Siberia or Sibir Airlines) Russia's largest domestic carrier with international service to many cities in Germany, China and ex-Soviet republics.
Rossiya Airlines (ex-Pulkovo Airlines) has a substantial network based at St Petersburg Pulkovo airport to both major cities in Russia, and to western Europe.
Other major airlines include: KrasAir (under heavy reorganization after being nearly bankrupt) and UTair . Many of these airlines (apart from Transaero, which started as an independent operation) were formed out of the onetime-Aeroflot operation at their home city from Soviet times when the old Aeroflot was broken up.

In March 2009, Rosaviation (federal aviation regulator) has published stats on average delays of departure in 2008, broken down by domestic airline:

maximal delays in departure are reported for: Alrosa Avia (40% flights were delayed for 2 hours or more), Moskoviya (17%), Dagestan Airlines (16%), Red Wings (14%), SkyExpress (13%), VIM-Avia (12%), Yakutia (10%)
minimal delays are reported for: Aeroflot-Russian airlines, S7/Sibir, Rossia, UTair and UTair-Express, Aeroflot-Nord, Aeroflot-Don, Kuban Airlines, Yamal, Saratov Airlines, Transaero, Tatarstan
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Russia has a very lively hitchhiking culture, with many hitchhiking clubs, there is even an Academy of Hitchhiking. There are many competitions. Despite horror stories about bad things happening in Russia, it is relatively safe to hitchhike, especially in the countryside. In some regions Russians expect a little bit of money for a ride.