OREANDA-NEWS. October 5, 2007. The supervisory board of UTair (UTair Aviation, JSC) has decided to start a tender for short-haul jets to replace its air fleet of Tu-134 aircraft as part of its large-scale fleet renewal program.

The tender commission includes members of the airline’s Supervisory Board and executive body. The commission’s aim is to determine the aircraft type and the financing structure for the deal in collaboration with producers, leasing companies and banks.

UTair is currently eyeing aircraft produced both in Russia and abroad, including planes such as the An-148, ARJ-21/700, Bombardier CRJ-700, Embraer ERJ-170, SSJ 100/95, Tu-334 and others. According to the airline’s General Director Andrei Martirosov, the airline projects “an open tender, which is bound to become one of the most noticeable events in the Russian aircraft industry”. It is presumed that UTair will have acquired over 30 short-haul jets by 2014.

UTair is among Russia's top air carriers, with plans for transporting over three million passengers in 2007, including over 600,000 on regional routes. UTair was one of the first to embark on an air fleet updating program for its regional aircraft. In particular, the airline proposes to gradually replace its Russian Yak-40 and An-24 airliners with European ATR-42. Its air fleet embraces seven ART-42 jets, and the number is to be raised to 15 as soon as in 2008.