United Airlines postpones start of new Moscow service

United Airlines, the second-largest of the world’s air carriers, has been granted permission in the U.S. to postpone the beginning of its service from Washington Dulles Airport to Moscow for five months. The high cost of jet fuel was the reason for the delay given by UA.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has informed the carrier that the new service must begin no later than March 29, 2009, in its decision that was announced late last week. The carrier had originally intended to launch the new service from Washington’s Dulles Airport on October 26 of this year.

Earlier this month, as rival carriers were cutting flights in response to soaring fuel costs, United approached the Department of Transportation, asking for permission to delay the launch of the new Moscow service. Without obtaining permission, UA could have lost the route to a competitor. United was granted rights to the route in May of this year.

The U.S. airline industry is showing a great deal of interest Russia, where the economy is booming, partly due to the high price of oil. American Airlines launched a non-stop service in June, between Chicago and Moscow. Prior to that, the only U.S. carrier servicing Russia was Delta, with flights from Atlanta and New York.

www.dot.gov