Bmi and Transaero link on London-Moscow

The co-operation agreement signed back in July by the UK's bmi and Russia's Transaero to operate a daily codeshare service between London Heathrow and Moscow Domodedovo took off on 29 October.
It has been nine years since bmi first attempted to gain a foothold in the Russian market - the previous attempt ended in failure in 2000. "We've been banging on the Russian door for almost as long as we've been banging on the Open Skies door," says chief executive Nigel Turner.
This is bmi's first foray into the medium-haul market and sees the introduction of a new business-class product on the carrier's Airbus A320, with a 41in seat pitch and improved in-flight service. Transaero will use Boeing 737 aircraft on the route.
Turner says he anticipates the service appealing particularly to business-class passengers, and those working in the energy sector.
This will strike a chord with Transaero, which boasts of operating the world's longest domestic route - 11 hours' duration to Anadyr, capital of the Chukotka region in the far north east of Russia, a rich source of gold, diamonds, gas and oil, and whose governor is Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich.