CX and CZ increase services to Russia

China Southern (CZ) launched a new route to Moscow last week while Cathay Pacific (CX) has announced new codeshare services to Russia.

CZ, a member of SkyTeam, has launched a new direct thrice-weekly Guangzhou-Moscow service. When combined with the codeshare flights operated by alliance member Aeroflot, the airline offers a total of 11 weekly flights on this route.

Moscow

The Guangzhou – Moscow route will be operated by an Airbus A330-200 according to the following schedule:

CZ also flies to Moscow via Urumqi, operated by a B757-200 from Guangzhou to Urumqi and a B737-700 from Urumqi to Moscow. In order to offer greater flexibility, the carrier has rearranged the operation days of this flight to Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with unchanged operation time. The service departs Guangzhou at 1250, arriving Urumqi at 1820, leaving again at 1945 for a 2110 touchdown in Moscow. The return leg takes off at 2240, landing in Urumqi at 0730 the following day, departing after a short stop and arriving Guangzhou at 1425.

To cater to Russian passengers, CZ will not only offer Russian films on its inflight entertainment system but also recruit Russian cabin crew and serve Russian cuisine onboard.

Meanwhile, CX and S7 Airlines, both of Oneworld, have announced a codeshare deal by placing CX’s code on S7 flights between Moscow and St Petersburg; Hong Kong and Vladivostok; and Hong Kong and Khabarovsk. S7, at the same time, will codeshare on CX's flights between Moscow and Bangkok as well as Singapore via Hong Kong. The service will launch on July 3, and passengers can earn Asia Miles on these routes.

Flight schedules for the codeshare services:

Moscow Domodedovo (DME) – St Petersburg (LED) route (Cathay currently operates thrice weekly service to Moscow – Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays )

Hong Kong (HKG) – Vladivostok (VVO) route

Hong Kong (HKG) – Khabarovsk (KHV) route

Rupert Hogg, director sales and marketing of CX, said: “This significantly broadens the travel opportunities to Russia for our customers, expanding trade and tourism in the process.”

Vladivostok

St Petersburg, located in northwest of Russia, is a major financial centre and industrial capital. On the opposite end of the country, Vladivostok serves as the largest Russian port on the Pacific Ocean, in which shipping and commercial fishing underscore its economy. Just about 800 kilometres north of Vladivostok is Khabarovsk, where it is honoured by Forbes magazine as one of the most suitable cities in Russia for private business, with industries including gold and silver mining, steel mills and food packaging.

Khabarovsk

For more information, visit www.csair.com and www.cathaypacific.com

Valerian Ho