Ilyushin IL62 Aeroflot CCCP-86653 with KLM titles limited edition

During the cold war the Soviet Union kept its airspace closed for western airlines. Thisforced flights between Europe and the Far East to make far detours and make a fuel stop. Most airlines chose to make a stopover in Anchorage, Alaska, US.

In order to offer travelers the opportunity to fly faster to the Far East, KLM offered travelers the opportunity to fly with Aeroflot. The Russian national carrier flew from Amsterdam to Moscow and then on to Tokyo. The flights were carried out with the four-engined Ilyushin Il-62. Although the pilots were provided by Aeroflot, the cabin crew on the flights was partly provided by KLM.
It was unusual in the 1970s for two societies to have such cooperation, let alone a Western society and the national society of the Soviet Union. To celebrate the collaboration, in addition to the Aeroflot logo, the KLM logo was also affixed to the Il-62's. This makes KLM one of the few Western companies that ever had its logo on a plane built in the Soviet Union.
The collaboration turned out not to be a great success and after a few months it was discontinued. Until the opening of Russian airspace, KLM operated flights to Tokyo and other destinations in the Far East via Anchorage.