heremetyevo International Airport welcomed the first flight of new Chinese airline Lucky Air on November 3. The carrier will operate the route Kunming-Sheremetyevo-Kunming (arriving at 15:10 Moscow time, departure at 17:20 Moscow time) weekly on Fridays. Airbus A330-300 (292 seats capacity) will run on the route. Passengers will be served at Terminal F.
Lucky Air is part of the HNA Group and it is the fourth representative of the largest Chinese holding at Sheremetyevo airport. Hainan Airlines, Beijing Capital Airlines and Tianjin Airlines also represented at the airport.
This month Lucky Air completely transfers its flights to Sheremetyevo. The presence of a comfortable environment for Chinese passengers was one of the factors when choosing an airport. Sheremetyevo was the first airport in Russia to receive the China Friendly certificate in 2017, confirming the high quality of service and allowing travelers from China to feel at home. Sheremetyevo has created comfortable conditions for the Chinese passengers’ stay: PA announcements, navigation in the airport premises, official website and a guidebook about Moscow, are all available in Chinese, duty free shops and restaurants accept UnionPay cards. Imperial Duty Free Heinemann stores offer special promotions and discounts specifically for UnionPay cardholders.
Since 2017 Sheremetyevo airport has served 1 mln 780 ths. passengers on Chinese routes which is a 17% increase as compared to the same period last year. Sheremetyevo is the only European airport serving eight leading Chinese airlines and ranks first in the world in terms of transfer flights between China and Europe. For nine months of 2017 more than 596 ths. passengers have flown with a transfer at the Sheremetyevo airport. This is a 33% increase to the same period last year. The route network includes 15 destinations from Sheremetyevo airport to China, with the most popular being: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Wuhan.
Director for Aviation Marketing and Commerce of Sheremetyevo International Airport Vladimir Khizhnyak said: “We will continue to strengthen partnerships with Chinese airlines. This is strategically important for the development of Sheremetyevo Airport as an international hub. Lucky Air became the eighth representative of China in our airport. Number 8 is the happiest number for all Chinese people. In China it is associated with ‘wealth’ and ‘prosperity’ and we are sure that the arrival of Lucky Air will bring good luck and will become the basis for further mutually beneficial cooperation”.
