The Irish air carrier Ryanair is confirmed having been in negotiations with the Russian side for a chance to be an exclusive partner for Moscow-Dublin flights.

       Earlier this month the head of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service made a point of a possibility to allow the foreign air companies to enter the Russian market, provided there are no legal impediments to this. Soon after the Irish Foreign Ministry sent an official letter to their Russian colleagues, asking to appoint Ryanair the main carrier on Moscow-Dublin route. 

      Although the matter is far from conclusion, Ryanair stands a good chance of entering the Russian market. Apart from a worldwide fame of a reliable low-cost flight operator, the company also has an impressive park of modern airplanes and already chipped a share off the Russian airlines by offering cheap flights to Europe from the Baltic countries. To save money, people prefer to reach Tallinn, Vilnius, Riga and Kaunas and from there fly with Ryanair. 

      Until 2003 Skynet air carrier used to fly to Ireland; since then it has been S7 operator who connected the two countries, however it mainly operated in summer. Presently it is known that Ural Airlines will be flying to Ireland and back. 

      It must be noted that, even if successful, Ryanair will only become a flight operator for connections between specific Russian and Irish airports. The law currently prohibits foreign companies to operate domestic flights, meaning that passengers from other cities will likely have to reach Moscow first in order to board a cheaper flight abroad.