Quote Originally Posted by Throbert McGee View Post
Question: Wouldn't this sentence theoretically be possible IF Antonio often often flies to Russia (from Ukraine, for example), but he always takes the train (or an automobile, or some means other than flying) when coming back from Russia to Ukraine?
No, it does not work that way.

The problem with aspect and "directionality" is that for each possible rule a great number of exceptions is possible. The use of of one or another verb can be very subjective, and it works for the native speakers but does not usually work for the foreigners.

For you as an advanced student I can add a comment which can only confuse a student at early stage. "Я часто лечу в Россию..." is possible when, for example, author describes repetitive action (часто), but wants to describe the very process of how exactly he flies. It is often used, for example, for the purposes of narration. It makes the reader to feel like he observes one concrete but typical voyage. So it is a literary trick for the participation effect.