OREANDA-NEWS. Moscow hosted the annual Interline Conference, DME Connections 2014, that was attended, as is customarily, by professionals of the Russian, CIS and foreign aviation markets.

The conference began with the speck of Aleksey Yarosh, Marketing Director, Moscow Domodedovo Airport, who noted the main trends and prospects of the air transportation market of the Moscow Air Hub (MAH). Over 8 months of the current year, MAH's passenger traffic has posted a 10.6% growth yoy. Air transportation by global airlines advanced by 4.2%, and by domestic airlines, by 20.2%. For instance, the passenger traffic in domestic airlines in the Simferopol destination gained by 34.4% from Moscow Domodedovo Airport only. Greater demand for Crimean destinations became one of the most significant growth factors in the domestic segment. It was also noted by Grigory Terekhin, representative of one of the leading airlines engaged in online ticket sales - Aviasales.ru, who took part in the event. According to him, in January/August 2014, the number of customers who bought Moscow/Simferopol tickets quadrupled on the prior-year. In addition, Grigory told about new developments in air ticket sales and emphasized that early booking is becoming less popular with passengers who prefer buying tickets as close to the departure date as possible.

The Customs Service experts took part in the conference this year. Aleksandr Berzhan, Senior Deputy Head, Domodedovo Customs, told about the customs rules that would accelerate the pre-flight procedures for passengers in a transfer airport.

In the second part of the conference, the participants conducted pre-planned meetings where they discussed the cooperation options with potential partners.

“DME Connections is an excellent opportunity to meet the established and potential partner airlines, in order to expand the itinerary network and to develop cooperation,” noted Natalia Pechinkina, Head, Department for External Relations, at Transaero.

The awarding ceremony for air carriers that performed the greatest number of precision flights in spring/summer 2014 was one of the most memorable moments of the conference. The rating was compiled as part of the Just in Time contest that has been held by Moscow Domodedovo Airport for more than six years already. Such carriers as Transaero, Rossiya, Polet, Pskovskoye Aviation Enterprise, Lufthansa, AZAL, Dnepravia, Japan Airlines were among the most precise partner airlines.

Moscow Domodedovo Airport is the leader in Russia and Eastern Europe by passenger traffic. The air hub maintains its leadership by the passenger traffic growth rates in the group of Europe's major hubs, which, according to ACI Europe most recent monthly report, came to 13.2%. Moscow Domodedovo Airport, together with its partner airlines, continues expanding its flights and destinations, providing broad selection and new opportunities to the most sophisticated travellers.