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Airline News Despite World events the news from the Airlines is quite positive. Transaero has announced that it will post a net profit of more than $.1 million for this year and that it will resume flights to London, Frankfurt and Strasbourg. The airline also has plans to up-date its fleet with a probable lease of 2 Boeing 767 aircraft in the new year. Transaero currently flies to more than 20 cities in Russia and abroad. British Airways reported only a slight decrease on the number of passengers on the flights from London to Russia in comparison to a 25-35% decrease on most other routes. British airways flies 14 times a week from Moscow and 5 times a week from St.Petersburg carrying approximately 250,000 passengers a year from these destinations. Aeroflot has formally signed a code-sharing and inter-line agreement with a new Irish airline allowing wider access to European routes. It has been widely known that Aeroflot has been seeking a strategic partnership to increase access under the EU Open Skies agreement. First d flights from Moscow to Dublin and Shannon are expected to commence in April using 2 leased Boeing 737-400 aircraft. Scheremetyevo airport has again been in the news recently especially regarding the resignation of it's Director. Sheremetyevo is receiving increased criticism regarding the lack of progress in its modernisation and especially long lines at Passport Control. The airport was built for the 1980 Winter Olympics and no major renovations have been carried out since despite the fact that the terminal will have handled more than 11.6 million passengers in 2001. Progress on the third terminal has never continued due to ground ownership disputes. On a brighter note Domodedovo airport has received praise from many regular travellers. This privately run airport is now home to Air Malta, Swissair and Sabena. British Airways and Lufthansa are also believed to be showing interest in a switch to this modern facility if no progress is made at Scheremetyevo.  |
