Russian airline UTair Aviation made its first direct flight from Bratislava to Moscow yesterday, thus filling a one year gap in this connection after Aeroflot cancelled the route back in May 2010.
The airline will be flying to and from Moscow in the afternoons four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The flights will shuttle between the M. R Stefanik Airport in Bratislava to the Vnukovo Airport in Moscow, taking roughly 2 hours 45 minutes. The link should be in operation throughout the summer until the end of October at least.
UTair is an integrated air transport and aircraft services company with over 40 years of experience on the Russian air transport market. It focuses on 5 strategic business segments: passenger transport operations, helicopter operations, MRO, airport services and airline catering services.
Today, UTair operates the largest aircraft fleet in Russia and ranks among the top five largest Russian carriers by passenger volume, having transported almost 9 million passengers last year. UTair is the Russian market leader in helicopter services and is the world’s fourth largest helicopter service provider by volume of international operations.
In 2008 the company was granted the IOSA certificate confirming the airline’s compliance with the world flight safety standards and in December 2008 UTair became a member of the International Aviation Transport Association (IATA). In November 2008 UTair and Lufthansa AG signed an agreement on commercial cooperation (Interline). This agreement has become the first step towards the high-grade cooperation of UTair Aviation and Star Alliance.
Read more: Direct BA-Moscow flights from 1 June, Warsaw line cancelled | The Daily News – Slovakia