In a flurry of news from the German flagship carrier this week, Lufthansa said it would move its cargo and passenger flights in Moscow from Sheremetyevo Airport to Domodedovo Airport starting with the Summer 2008 timetable, and that it would enter a partnership with AiRUnion, the Russian airline alliance.
     The move to the new airport, 37 kilometers, (23 miles), east of Moscow, allows Lufthansa to operate with its Star Alliance partners from the same airport. Other Star Alliance members serving Moscow are Swiss, Austrian, BMI, Singapore, Spanair and Thai, according to Lufthansa.
     Lufthansa Cargo officials couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, but Boris Ogursky, a corporate spokesman for the airline, said the move of cargo operations also made sense because there were some synergies between passenger and cargo ground services at the new airport.
     Domodedovo is one of the largest airports in Russia, serving 15 million passengers, or 47% of the traffic in Moscow, and more than a third in Russia in 2006.
     “By shifting our operations to Domodedovo, we will once again be able to work with our partners under one roof and offer our passengers a standardized service,” Lufthansa CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber said in a statement issued earlier today (Wednesday May 11).
     “Lufthansa passengers will find a modern, service-oriented environment at Domodedovo,” Mayrhuber continued.      “Furthermore, the planned extension of Domodedovo will open up new, exciting perspectives in one of the fastest-growing markets worldwide.”
     Lufthansa also said it was entering a partnership with AiRUnion, an alliance of five Russian carriers KrasAir, Domodedovo Airlines, Sibaviatrans, Omskavia and Samara, in order to expand their services within Russia.
     “Russia is an important destination for our customers, and it’s growing steadily in significance,” Mayrhuber said.
     “Together with AiRUnion, we will be able to provide a dense network of connections within Russia for our passengers and thus crucially improve our position in this up-and-coming market.
     This cooperation is also important in strategic terms, as we aim to develop the partnership between Lufthansa and AiRUnion into an important and strong alliance in Russia.”
     Also Wednesday, Lufthansa said it appointed Jacques Aigrain, the CEO of reinsurance company Swiss RE to the Lufthansa supervisory board, replacing Gerhard Cromme, whose five-year term has expired.
     The Swiss Aviation Foundation, exercising a right to name a new member to the Lufthansa board in the event of a vacancy, nominated Aigrain, who has been a member of the management board of Swiss International Airlines since 2001.
     Earlier in the week, Lufthansa said it booked its best first half ever in terms of passengers flown. In the first six months, the airline flew 27 million passengers, with a seat load factor of 76%.
     Lufthansa Cargo transported 877,000 tons of cargo including mail in the first half of 2007, up 2.8% over 2006.
     The cargo load factor during the first half was 68.5%.
George Frey