Director of Operations Ken Gray believes the original intent of the ACSF audit was “worthy” because his company, Executive Fliteways of Ronkonkoma, N.Y., was undergoing a minimum of three safety audits a year. So when ACSF management approached him to become a charter member and help develop the new audit standard, Gray jumped at the chance.

And, yes, operating in Russia is expensive, or as Mrocka put it after dropping $8.40 on a cup of coffee at his Moscow hotel, “outrageously expensive.” Carry cash for basic transactions, he advised, “as most places on the ground do not accept credit cards. It’s a cash-oriented society.” Williams at Universal Weather noted that rooms in Western-style hotels in larger cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg range from $300 to $600 a night; in remote locations, standards and prices will be lower (see sidebar on travel in Eastern Russia).