As the host nation for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russia is pushed yet further in the global spotlight. Routesonline analyses the country’s recovering aviation industry, examining the fastest-growing international markets, the top airports and the busiest routes.
The shortlists for the prestigious Routes Europe 2018 Marketing Awards have been revealed, with 17 airports and six destinations in the running for an award.
Japan Airlines and Aeroflot are to start codeshare flights as part of a wider planned collaboration that could lead to a joint business being created in the future.
The airline had for a long-time used Domodedovo International Airport as its main scheduled base in Moscow, supplemented by leisure-based operations from Sheremetyevo International Airport. However, in May 2012 it introduced flights from Vnukovo, until then known mainly for its domestic activities within the Russian Federation.
AirBridgeCargo’s new link to Singapore establishes the first dedicated freight link between Changi International Airport and the Russian capital and will further strengthen the Asian gateway’s connectivity to Russia and beyond. The airline is offering a twice weekly service on the Moscow – Singapore – Hong Kong – Moscow routing using a Boeing 747-8F.
The airline industry is opening its eyes to Moldova as an international market and meetings at this year’s Routes Silk Road forum in Tbilisi, Georgia have helped establish at least one new air service and confirmed an increased capacity offering on an existing route.
The Independently-owned full-service carrier currently operates five flights per week to Blagoveshchensk but from Moscow Domodedovo, but from May 26, 2015 it will increase to a daily schedule. It will further boost capacity between the Russian capital and the destination from June 22, 2015 with the launch of a new twice weekly offering from Moscow Vnukovo.
The airline, part of the Volga-Dnepr Group, introduced a twice weekly connection to Nội Bài International Airport in Hanoi from its base at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport from April 1, 2015. The flights from Vietnam operate via Hong Kong and connect in the Russian capital to AirBridgeCargo’s wider network into Europe and the United States.