Regional Carrier Has Ordered 20 Of The Aircraft

The Russian air carrier UTair has taken delivery of its first ATR 72-500 aircraft, which is also the first one of this type to be operating in Russia. UTair and ATR recently announced an order for 20 aircraft, estimated at US $ 426 million. The remaining ATR 72-500 aircraft will be delivered in 2011 and 2012. The delivery of these new 70-seat aircraft will bring the number of ATR aircraft operated by UTair up to 37, making it the largest operator of ATR aircraft in Europe.

The UTair network includes nearly 40 Russian and international destinations. Its territory extends from the Baltic States to Eastern Siberia and from the far north of Russia to south Ukraine. With the acquisition of the new ATR aircraft, UTair says it is also significantly opening up its route network to access new areas both domestically and internationally.

Currently the UTair fleet consists of nearly 200 aircraft, most of which run on domestic routes to roughly 300 destinations. UTair has been operating ATR aircraft since 2006, when the company brought the first ATR aircraft into operation in Russia.

"We are proud of the fact that we have brought the ATR 72-500 aircraft into operation in Russia and can provide our passengers with state-of-the-art comfort on these new aircraft," said Andrey Martirosov, UTair Chief Executive Officer. "The new ATR 72-500 aircraft represents the optimum combination of the lowest operating cost and technical maintenance costs in regional aviation".

"Russia and the CIS countries are providing us strong commercial opportunities as they expand their regional connectivity," said ATR CEO Filippo Bagnato. "The delivery of UTair's 20 ATR aircraft will clearly play a major role in reinforcing our market footprint in that region".

FMI: www.atraircraft.com, www.utair.ru/en