Anadolujet Makes Moscow Airport Switch

Turkish carrier Anadolujet will transfer its daily Ankara – Moscow service from Domodedovo Airport to Vnukovo Airport in the Russian capital this summer, the latest airline to announce its intention to switch its flights in the city. The link, operated by a mix of Airbus A320 and Boeing 737-800 equipment, will move airports from March 25, 2012, the same date that parent company Turkish Airlines (THY) transfers its own four times daily Istanbul route and daily Antalya link from Sheremetyevo.

It appears that Star Alliance could be moving towards establishing Vnukovo as an alternative gateway into Moscow as Lufthansa has also announced a major revision to its Russian strategy. From March 25, 2012 it too will start serving Vnukovo with a twice daily link from Frankfurt, while links to the Russian capital from Berlin, Dusseldorf and Hamburg will also be switched to Vnukovo from June 3, 2012. However, the German flag carrier will retain a presence at Domodedovo, which will be served four times daily from Frankfurt and three times daily from Munich.

Moscow is also currently served by ten other Star Alliance members, all of which currently serve Domodedovo: Aegean Airlines from Athens and Thessaloniki; Austrian Airlines from Innsbruck and Vienna; bmi from London; Brussels Airlines from Brussels; EgyptAir from Cairo; Singapore Airlines from Houston and Singapore; Swiss International Air Lines from Geneva; TAP Portugal from Lisbon; Thai Airways International from Bangkok and United Airlines from Washington. Along with the current services of Anadolujet, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, these flights account for 11.3 per cent of the total available seat capacity at the airport.