Cathay Pacific Airways today announced it will, pending final government approvals, make history again as the first Hong Kong airline flying to Russia with the launch of a three-times-weekly service to Moscow, starting 27 March 2006.

From Moscow, Cathay Pacific's service will continue onwards to Manchester, England. Cathay Pacific will be the only airline to offer a direct passenger service to Manchester from Hong Kong.

The announcement came a week after the airline placed its biggest ever order for new aircraft in order to add flights and new destinations.

The Moscow service will extend an existing codeshare agreement with Aeroflot - Russian Airlines, while the Manchester service marks a resumption of Cathay Pacific passenger flights to the city, which traditionally has strong ties with Hong Kong. The route will be operated with an Airbus A340-300.

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Philip Chen said: "Cathay Pacific's new Moscow and Manchester service adds yet another spoke to the Hong Kong hub. It strengthens the city's ties to Europe and reinforces its position as the gateway to the Chinese Mainland. "

Mr Chen added: "Moscow is an exciting destination and our new service will offer Hong Kong passengers more choices and greater travel convenience to this great capital. With three new services to Manchester, we will operate an unmatched 31 flights every week from Hong Kong to the UK."

Both the Moscow and Manchester services are expected to generate new hub traffic to and from Australia, New Zealand and around the region. Hong Kong's gateway position will appeal to Russian businesses forging closer trade ties within the Pearl River Delta.

Cathay Pacific has operated codeshare flights to Moscow with Aeroflot since June 2004. Aeroflot currently operates the service with Boeing 767 aircraft. All services operated by both airlines will carry Aeroflot's "SU" and Cathay Pacific's "CX" prefixes.

Cathay Pacific last week announced its biggest ever order for new aircraft to grow its fleet and network. The airline made commitments for 16 advanced wide-body Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with purchase rights for 20 more. It also made commitments to acquire three Airbus A330-300s to operate regional routes.

Cathay Pacific currently operates 54 passenger services to five cities in Europe each week. It operates four flights a day to London, plus daily services to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, and five weekly flights to Rome. The airline serves 92 destinations world-wide.

Full schedule

Schedule of Cathay Pacific operated services

Cathay Pacific Airways
Corporate Communication Department