AVIALINII-400 SIGNS FOR SIX NEW TU-204-100
DELIVERY Avialinii-400 will next year take delivery of three new Tupolev Tu-204-100 passenger airliners and has an option for three more, all through Ilyushin Finance. The operator may take a fourth aircraft next year and expects to take the fifth and sixth in 2009, taking its Tu-204-100 fleet to 10, says general director Konstantin Teterin. After that he hopes to order a Tu-204SM. Avialinii-400 has already started passenger charter services on one Tu-204-100, and is taking three more aircraft from the secondary market, which will be fully operational, after overhaul, in October. "We like the Tu-204. It is quite competitive", he says.
UKRAINE QUALIFIES AS 'BUYING RUSSIAN'
ORDERS GTK Rossiya, the official carrier of the Russian president and government, is buying through Ilyushin Finance a new Ilyushin Il-96-300 for delivery in September. The carrier has also ordered six Antonov An-148-100B regional airliners, with an option for six more. This order replaces an earlier agreement between the supplier and GUAP Pulkovo, which is now part of GTK Rossiya. Russia's transport minister blessed the Antonov deal despite a "buy Russian" policy industry consolidation has recently brought An-148 under the Russia's United Aircraft (OAK) umbrella.
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY OPERATOR GOES ANTONOV
LEASE Ilyushin Finance and GosZemKadastrSiyemka have signed a lease contract for an Antonov An-38-120 turboprop. The An-38-120 is equipped with Garrett TPE331-14GR-801 engines and a mix of Russian and US avionics. It will also carry additional equipment for aerial photography, in which the state-run operator specialises. The aircraft will be delivered in January.
JETS BY THE DOZEN
AGREEMENT Russian carrier Rossiya is to acquire 12 Antonov An-148 regional jets under a fresh agreement with Ilyushin Finance. Six will be leased for delivery next year and in 2009, and six will be bought outright. The deal follows a memorandum of understanding signed in 2005 between Ilyushin Finance and Pulkovo Airlines, which had been seeking up to 18 An-148s before the airline merged with Rossiya last year.
CUBA SIGNS TWINJET DEAL
EXPORT Cuban government import agency Aviaimport is buying three Antonov An-148-100B regional jets and two Tupolev Tu-204-100 twinjets. Cuba took delivery of its first Tu-204CE freighter on 4 August, and is expected to accept the Tu-204-100E by the end of this month. By the end of this year Cuba is expected to take delivery of another passenger-configured Tu-204. The three An-148s will be in standard passenger configuration for 68 passengers in two classes. They will be powered by Ukrainian-built Progress D-436-148 engines and delivered in 2009-10.
ATLANT-SOYUZ IS 737 CUSTOMER
PURCHASE Moscow-based carrier Atlant-Soyuz has been identified as the customer for four Next Generation 737-700s, worth $249 million at 2007 list prices, listed as unidentified in Boeing's 2006 order totals. "The key factors in our purchase decision were the 737-700's superior range - enhanced with blended winglets - and its industry-leading dispatch reliability," says Atlant-Soyuz chairman Valery Menitsky. Atlant-Soyuz recently added two leased 737 Classics to its fleet.
TUPOLEV GETS RED AND BLUE WINGS
PROCUREMENT New Russian low-cost operator Red Wings has ordered six new Tupolev Tu-204-100 twinjets, with delivery due to begin at the end of this year. Red Wings already flies two secondhand Tu-204-100s and another two are being refurbished. The additional aircraft will be powered by Aviadvigatel PS-90As, although Red Wings managing director Konstantin Teterin says the airline is considering other variants of the twinjet, including the proposed Tu-204SM, which would include Western engines and enhanced avionics. "We'll definitely acquire up to seven of the type for ourselves and, probably, five for our sister carrier Blue Wings," says Teterin. Blue Wings is the German-based carrier in which Russia's National Reserve Corporation also has a majority interest.
Source: Flight International
