James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ president and CEO, addressing a news conference in Moscow, said, “The UAE is home to almost 25,000 Russians and 400 Russia-UAE joint venture companies, and as a result, the business and cultural ties between the two countries have never been stronger.“Moscow-Abu Dhabi has been a tremendous success with strong load factor and good traffic feeds from our codeshare partner, S7 Airlines. The aim now is to expand services and connectivity over both Abu Dhabi and Moscow with S7.
“By year end, Etihad Airways will be a US$5 billion business, we’ll have carried more 10 million passengers across our global network, and have 1.8 million Etihad Guest loyalty members.
"All this will have been achieved despite a still fragile global economy, and at times, challenging operating conditions.
“Working closely with S7 Airlines, our Russian partners, the travel industry, the business community and governments, we look forward to further cementing the Etihad Airways brand across Russia and deepening the already strong relationship between Russia and the United Arab Emirates.”
Etihad Airways codeshares on S7 operated services from Moscow to the Russian cities of Kazan (KZN), Samara (KUF), Krasnodar (KRR) and Saint Petersburg (LED).
S7 codeshares on Etihad Airways’ daily Moscow-Abu Dhabi service and onwards to Bangkok. Subject to receiving necessary government approvals, the next phase of Etihad Airways’ partnership with S7 will mark the Russian carrier’s flight code placed on Etihad Airways’ flights to Sydney and Melbourne.
Etihad Airways operates a two-cabin Airbus A320 aircraft between Abu Dhabi and Moscow. This configuration amounts to 1,904 seats a week.
The Abu Dhabi based carrier commenced operations to the Russian capital on December 1, 2008, and since transported almost 250,000 travelers and 620 tons of cargo on the route. Five weekly flights became a daily service in 2009, and load factors have increased in each year of operation.
Etihad Airways (EY) Moscow-Abu Dhabi Winter Schedule
| EY 68 | Moscow (DME) | 15:10 | Abu Dhabi (AUH) | 20:25 | Daily |
| EY 69 | Abu Dhabi (AUH) | 8:45 | Moscow (DME) | 14:10 | Daily |