OREANDA-NEWS. May 21, 2012. The most prestigious annual Russian aviation industry prize - Wings of Russia - was awarded on 14 May in Moscow.

Ural Airlines became the laureate in the nomination Airline of the Year - Domestic Passenger Carrier in Group 2 (Domestic Passenger Traffic Volume 1 to 3 bn PKM) Following the Results of 2011. It is noteworthy that the airline holds a steady leadership in its group and has been winning this prize for three years in a row. In addition to that, Ural Airlines was awarded the second prize in the nomination Airline of the Year - Scheduled International Passenger Service Carrier.

This year, 48 Russian air carriers, actually representing all of Russia's air transport, were nominated to participate in the contest for the Airline of the Year title. These include major air carriers, regional airlines, business aviation operators, specialized cargo carriers, helicopter operators, tour operators.

The Expert Council included competent specialists representing legislative and executive authorities, aviation business, financial community, non-governmental organizations, and media, as well as merited aviators and independent experts.

The Wings of Russia Prize was established in 1997 by the Russian Air Transport Operators Association and the Air Transport Review trade journal, and for more than 10 years now has been the only professional rating event capable of an unbiased assessment of Russian airlines' operations against a whole range of indicators. The primary goals of the Prize are to attract the public attention to Russian airlines' achievements under the conditions of tough competition, encourage the development of professional community in Russia's civil aviation, enhance the prestige of Russia's civil aviation before the international aviation community, and create a favourable investment climate in the industry.