Irish start-up carrier SkyNet Airlines plans to launch services this week, flying between Shannon and Moscow Sheremetyevo via Amsterdam with a Boeing 737-400.
Shannon-based SkyNet, which was conceived as a way for Russian carrier Aeroflot to break into the European short-haul market, will codeshare with Aeroflot on the Amsterdam-Moscow leg of this six-times weekly service.
The two airlines intend to expand codesharing in the last quarter of the year to include Shannon-Dublin-Warsaw-Moscow services. The airline's 737 is leased from US leasing company Bacock & Brown and is scheduled to be joined by a second 737.
The airline is 51% Irish-owned and has US shareholders, including businessman Tom Kane, the owner of Adare Manor Hotel in Ireland. The investment required for the SkyNet project has been estimated at $10 million.
Source: Flight International
