OREANDA-NEWS. October 24, 2008. Fast-growing S7 Airlines, Russia’s largest domestic carrier, brings a party of Russia's leading artists to Vienna onboard an introductory flight between the two capitals, reported the press-centre of S7 Airlines.

Boeing 737-800NG, in the airline's distinctive green livery, will depart Moscow's Domodedovo Airport at 11.20 am local time and arrive at Vienna Airport's business terminal at 12.00 noon Austrian time.

The aircraft joined the S7 fleet this month as the airline accelerates towards becoming the first Russian airline to operate an all western fleet, of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, by November.

Passengers taking this historic flight include famous artists, filmmakers, actors and starlets – film producer Stepan Mikhalkof, film director Fyodor Bondarchuk, film director Timur Bekhmambetov, photographic artist Olga Sviblova, pop star Alena Sviridova and others. More than 60 Russian and international journalists will join passengers on the trip, which is aimed at promoting ties between the two countries and capital cities.

The flight will promote cultural tourism from Russia to Europe as part of S7’s programme of supporting art tourism. The plane's arrival will launch the opening of the modern mutimedia art exhibition called "I Love U, Vienna - Stars of Contemporary Video Art", that is being displayed in the airport's international terminal.

Vladislav Filev, S7 CEO, said: "We are a big supporter of Russian art because art tourism helps to develop international cooperation and understanding, as well as growth of passenger traffic. The Russian people are consistently looking for new international travel opportunities and Vienna can benefit from this. Together we can both grow. We see Austria as a strategically important market with great untapped potential. With the Russian leisure and charter market likely to double in the next five years, the outlook for our business is very promising and Austria can play a huge part in this – hence this first ever flight by S7 between our historic capital cities.”

Since April this year, S7 Airlines has supported mobile exhibitions of contemporary Russian art under the title ‘The Future depends on you - New rules’. The exhibition has travelled through eight major Russian cities and this will be the first time that it has been seen overseas.

Taking its involvement in art still further, S7 Airlines for the first time in Rusian civil aviation history has named one of its own aircraft in the honor of Timur Novikov, the Russian contemporary artist. The project ‘Aircraft Timur Novikov’ was launched in September on the artist's 50th birthday and to coincide with an exhibition opening in the state museum Hermitage.