Etihad to offer 3 daily flights from Abu Dhabi to Moscow

MANILA, Philippines - Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will increase its Abu Dhabi-Moscow services from seven flights per week to double daily on June 1, 2014, and then to triple daily from Oct. 1, 2014.

The UAE flag carrier commenced operations to Moscow’s Domodedovo airport (DME) in December 2008, and since then has carried more than 400,000 travellers.  In 2013 passenger volumes rose 36 percent compared to 2012 levels, achieving double-digit growth for the fourth consecutive year.

 James Hogan, president and chief executive officer of Etihad Airways, said: “The UAE is home to almost 25,000 Russians and 400 Russia-UAE joint venture companies, and as a result, the business and cultural ties between the two countries have never been stronger.

“With flights three times per day, Etihad Airways provides more convenient services to Abu Dhabi, the UAE and across our global network.

 â€œEtihad Airways will offer 31 percent of the weekly frequencies between the UAE and Moscow, providing more direct flights than any other carrier.”

 Important new connections will include flights to and from Brisbane, Perth, Chengdu, Kathmandu, Lagos, the Maldives, Manila, Nairobi, Perth, Seychelles, Singapore, Phuket, and Ho Chi Minh City.

Elsewhere, the triple daily flights will see more and improved connections to Sydney, Bahrain, Bangkok, Doha, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Lahore, Muscat and Riyadh.

 The flight schedule will also boost onward codeshare connectivity with S7 Airlines beyond the Russian capital to the cities of Kazan, Krasnodar, Saint Petersburg and Samara.

 Etihad Airways plans to operate a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft between Abu Dhabi and Moscow for the triple daily service, meaning 5,712 seats a week – 672 in Pearl Business class, and 5,040 in Coral Economy class.

 For guests travelling from Moscow in Pearl Business class, the airline will continue to provide a premium complimentary door-to-door luxury limousine service, complete with a personal chauffeur (within the Moscow MKAD Ring Road to and from the airport).