#6 - JRL 7306
Airlines say may move from Moscow airport to rival
By Samantha Shields
MOSCOW, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Two major European airlines, fed up with poor service and shabby facilities at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, said on Friday they may follow British Airways and move some or all of their flights to newer rival Domodedovo. Germany's Lufthansa and Italy's Alitalia said Sheremetyevo was short of capacity and did not compare well with Domodedovo's modern, well equipped terminal.
Officials at Sheremetyevo airport, infamous for snaking queues and a dank interior, said they are trying to improve efficiency.
Europe's biggest airline, British Airways, shifted its Moscow hub to Domodedovo in July, citing better levels of customer comfort, good transport facilities and good services.
"We can presume that Domodedovo could be considered by Lufthansa as an alternative airport," Lufthansa said in a statement faxed to Reuters.
"We hope that the service in Sheremetyevo-2 will be improved. Today our experts are closely monitoring the situation and they think that Domodedovo has solid potential for cooperation with the leading world airlines."
The statement said Lufthansa, which operates 42 flights a week from Sheremetyevo-2, often flew to several airports in big cities and that the same tendency could develop in Moscow.
Alitalia is also considering a move. "We tried to move to Domodedovo two years ago and we are still interested in moving," said Marcello Valli, Alitalia's general manager for Russia and the CIS.
Sheremetyevo, which is 100 percent government-owned, said it was on good terms with Lufthansa and that no talks on a move had taken place.
"We are sure relations with Lufthansa will strengthen in the future," the airport said.
FREE BUS TRANSFER Sheremetyevo said it has taken steps to improve service in the past few month, including a free bus transfer between its two terminals, employing more staff at peak times and speeding up passage through the international terminal, Sheremetyevo-2.
It also said a project to build a rail link between the international terminal and Moscow city centre was in prospect.
Arriving passengers currently have the choice between a crowded minibus and metro ride or wily taxi drivers charging exorbitant rates.
Built for the 1980 Olympic games, Sheremetyevo is groaning under the weight of a post-Soviet travel boom which has pushed annual passenger traffic above 11 million.
Air France said it had no plans for a move because it operated code-sharing flights with Aeroflot.
Austrian Airlines said the airport suited it.
Domodedovo, owned and operated by Russia's East Line airlines, is further from Moscow than Sheremetyevo-2, but has a train service taking 45 minutes to reach the centre, and is clean and airy.
Changes at Sheremetyevo have yet to convince some critics, including The Economist magazine.
"Despite a few recent improvements, Moscow's main airport is still one of the worst of any capital city in Europe," it says in its Internet guide.
Travellers say they have seen few signs that things are getting any better.
"I haven't noticed any improvement over the past year. The queues are still long and the staff are still unfriendly," said a Moscow-based trader.
Russia has plans to build a new terminal that will house its flag carrier Aeroflot, Sheremetyevo-3, but has so far failed successfully to tender for its construction.
Russia's Transaero has also decamped to Domodedovo while Swissair and Belgium's Sabena had also moved their flights before they collapsed.
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