Siberian Expansion
SIBERIAN LIGHT Aviation (SiLA Avia)
has taken delivery of two LET L-
turboprops. The Czech-designed
aircraft, RA-67059 (c/n 173103) and
RA-67060 (c/n 173106), are the first
to be built under licence by the Ural
Works of Civil Aviation (UWCA) and
handed over to a commercial operator.
They were acquired under an agree-
ment with the Magadan regional
administration and the State Transport
Leasing Corporation (GTLK) – signed
last July – and will replace the carrier’s
ageing Antonov An-28s.SiLA Avia has already outlined plans
to purchase two more new-build
L-410s, which will be flown alongside
four examples operated jointly with
the Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise.
The new additions are expected to be
drawn from GTLK’s ten outstanding
orders, all of which are being financed
from the federal budget. This also
includes two aircraft for regional car-
rier Arkhangelsk United Air Squadron,
and another for Khabarovsk Airlines
to replace the example it lost in a fatal
accident near Nelkan last November.Air Astana Rebounds
AIR ASTANA is in a celebratory mood
after returning to profitability. The
Kazakh flag carrier, driven by strong
growth in passenger traffic and revenue
of 12% and 22% respectively, posted
a profit of $39.1 million for 2017. This
marks a significant turnaround for the
airline, which recorded its first ever
loss a year earlier as it struggled with
24 months of negative growth and the
devaluation of the Kazakh Tenge.
Commenting on the results, Air Astana
President and CEO Peter Foster stated:
“Astana EXPO 2017 and increased tran-
sit business through the new terminal at
Nursultan Nazarbayev Airport in Astana
have been the main growth drivers.
EXPO was a great success and sub-
stantially exceeded its visitor target.”
Air Astana’s strong performance, dur-
ing which it carried 4.2 million pas-
sengers and recorded total revenuesof $754m, came as the carrier grew its
capacity by 7% and added new services
from Astana to Delhi and Kiev. This
was in addition to increased frequen-
cies on a host of other routes, includ-
ing to Bangkok, Beijing, Dubai, Istanbul,
Moscow and Seoul.
Elsewhere, the carrier has outlined
plans to increase its connections
between Kazakhstan and the UK to
daily from June 1.“We’re delighted to have finally secured
daily flight status on what is such a
prestigious and popular route – the
only direct service linking the UK to
Kazakhstan,” Foster remarked. “London
has consistently grown in significance,
with both business and leisure travel-
lers and it comes at an opportune time
too for the airline strategically, as we
start to plan for an IPO listing in both
London and Kazakhstan.”Aeroflot
Firms Up
MC-21 Deal
AEROFLOT IS set to become the
biggest operator of the Irkut MC-
after concluding a deal for 50 exam-
ples. The jets, which will accommo-
date 169 passengers, including 16
in Business and 153 in Economy, are
being acquired under a 12-year lease
agreement with Rostec subsidiary
Aviacapital-Service. Deliveries are
expected to start in the first quarter
of 2020 and will run until 2026.
“The signing of a firm order for 50
MC-21 aircraft is a landmark event
not just for our two companies, but
for our country,” Aeroflot CEO Vitaly
Saveliev said. “Russian manufactur-
ers have created the first next-gen-
eration passenger aircraft, marking
Russia’s return as a global leader
in the aviation industry.” He added:
In today’s geopolitical context we
believe it is essential that there is
competitive Russian-made technol-
ogy, and that it is of the highest qual-
ity and competitively priced. For this
reason, our partnership with Rostec,
our largest partner and a shareholder
of Aeroflot, is of critical importance.”
Notably, the 50-jet deal – valued at
more than $5bn including
maintenance – includes a provision
for Aeroflot to switch powerplants
from the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G to
the Russian Aviadvigatel PD-14 from
the 26th aircraft.Myway Eyes
Spring Launch
GEORGIAN START-UP Myway Airlines
has outlined plans to launch its first
services in April. The Tbilisi-based
carrier – backed by China’s Hualing
Group – took delivery of its first two
aircraft, former Shandong Airlines
Boeing 737-8ALs 4L-BQJ (c/n 35075)
and 4L-MWA (c/n 35073), late last year
but is still to secure its AOC.
Myway’s director Igor Aptsiauri said
the airline’s third and fourth jets are due
later this year. Initial flights will be to
Belarus, Iran, Israel, Russia and Ukraine.Ukraine International Airlines has taken delivery of its first Boeing 777-200. The former Air
Austral and Orenair example, UR-GOA (c/n 29402), is one of four due to join the carrier this
year as part of a wide-reaching fleet expansion programme. The jet is equipped in a 361-seat,
three-class layout and will be used initially on services from Kiev to New York, Beijing
and Bangkok. PAUL DOYLESaratov A n-148s Return
SARATOV AIRLINES has resumed ser-
vices with its Antonov An-148s after
successfully completing extended
maintenance checks on the fleet. The
carrier temporarily grounded the air-
craft after one of its five examples was
lost in a fatal accident near Moscow
on February 11 (see Air Safety).
A statement posted on the airline’s
website five days later said the
Russian-built type was returning“under the existing schedule, but with
a flight instructor added to each crew”.
It added that the An-148s “fully
[comply with] all standards laid down
by operational documents”.
Saratov Airlines has, however, been
forced to withdraw links from Kursk
to Moscow/Domodedovo and St
Petersburg after the government of
the Kursk Oblast axed its contract
with the carrier amid repeated can-cellations brought about by capacity
shortages. Ch-aviation reports the
services will instead be operated
by RusLine using Bombardier CRJs.
(Photo Alexander Mishin/
Transport-Photo Images)Ukrainian Expansion
Antonov An-28 RA-28728 (c/n 1AJ007-13) is one of five examples
in service with SiLA Avia. The type is due to be replaced by
L- 410 s. SIL A AVIA8 AIRLINER WORLD APRIL 2018
News Review • CIS