United Wants to Put Off Launch of Moscow Service

Another U.S. airline route is going into the cooler for the winter: United’s new Washington-Moscow flight. Citing fuel costs, the airline notified the Transportation Department on July 2 that it would prefer to delay its inaugural flight in that market to March 29, 2009.

The route rights were awarded earlier this year with the proviso that the carrier start service in October 2008. United noted that oil prices were about $115 a barrel when it applied for the route but now exceed $140.