KD Avia celebrates UK anniversary

The fast growing Russian airline, KD avia, is celebrating the first anniversary of its inaugural flight into the UK by announcing the opening on a new route to the city of Yekaterinburg, which is a major stop on the world famous Trans-Siberian Railway.

In addition, KD avia, which currently operates an all Boeing fleet of 737-400 aircraft, has signed an order with Airbus for 25 AIrbus 319 aircraft.

KD avia's first flight to the UK touched down at London Gatwick Airport on 16th June 2007 and the airline now operates a daily scheduled service to its hub at Kaliningrad with easy onward connections to 12 cities in Russia.

The Kaliningrad hub connects 15 cities in Europe including London Gatwick with Moscow, St.-Petersburg, Chelyabinsk, Ufa, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, Rostov, Samara, Perm, Kazan and Volgograd plus Astana in Kazakhstan and now Yekaterinburg.

The new fleet of Airbus A319 aircraft will feature a spacious and comfortable cabin layout. The aircraft will be operated on the airline's extended network of domestic and international routes out of its Kaliningrad hub. The choice of engines has not yet been made.

"We are glad to have selected the Airbus A319 for our medium range fleet expansion. This aircraft meets all our requirements in terms of fuel efficiency and passenger comfort and is the best solution for us", said Sergey Grishchenko, Chairman of the Board of Directors of KD Avia.

"The A319 will contribute to the strengthening of Kaliningrad's position as an important Russian transit hub and at the same time will enable us to further develop our route network."

KD avia's UK Sales Manager, Loreta Durell, Said: "Yekaterinburg is a major extra destination - particularly for tourists with its numerous museums, art galleries and famous theatres. However it is perhaps most famous as the place where the family of Nicholas II were executed in 1918. It is also Russia's fifth largest city and has many business links to the UK."