Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, is celebrating three years of its non-stop service between Abu Dhabi and Moscow.The airline commenced operations to the Russian capital on December 1, 2008, and since then has carried almost 200,000 travellers on the route.
Five weekly flights became a daily service in 2009, and seat load factors have increased in each year of operation.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer, said: “Over the past three years, we have worked hard to respond to growing demand from business as well as leisure travellers in what is one of the key destinations on our network.
“With the addition of a number of new network connections in 2011, we are on track to carry a record number of passengers on the Abu Dhabi-Moscow route this year.
“Our aim is to be the airline of choice for business and leisure travellers, whether flying to Abu Dhabi or transferring through to destinations across the GCC, Indian Sub-Continent, Southeast Asia and Australia.”
Etihad Airways operates a two-cabin Airbus A320 aircraft between Abu Dhabi and Moscow. This configuration means 1,904 seats a week – 224 in Pearl Business, and 1,680 in Coral Economy.
Guests travelling to Moscow in Pearl Business have access to Etihad Airways’ premium complementary door-to-door luxury limousine service, complete with a personal chauffeur (within the Moscow MKAD Ring Road to and from the airport).
Since May 2010, the airline has also made it easier for Russian nationals to obtain a UAE visiting visa, through the TT Services online visa application centre.
In August this year, Etihad Airways expanded its codeshare agreement with Russia’s S7 Airlines. The revised deal allows Etihad Airways and S7 passengers to book flights from four Russian regional cities, Kazan (KZN), Samara (KUF), Krasnodar (KRR) and Saint Petersburg (LED) for travel to and from Abu Dhabi and beyond, connecting with Etihad Airways’ daily Moscow services.
“We remain committed to building the Etihad Airways brand in the Russian market, offering customers great choice, connectivity, and value,” said Mr Hogan.
“Working closely with our codeshare partner S7 Airlines, the travel industry, the business community and governments, we look forward to deepening the strong relationship between Russia and the United Arab Emirates.”
