OREANDA-NEWS. December 13, 2012. UTair Aviation and REGION Leasing, part of the REGION Group, have finalized a financing agreement for the purchase of a Mi-171 helicopter. The delivery will take place in December 2012.

UTair and REGION have a long history of successful cooperation on the bond and capital markets. “REGION has acted as an organizer of UTair bond and promissory note offerings since 2002,” said UTair CFO Igor Petrov about the deal. “Over the past ten years, we have implemented a number of major transactions which have provided UTair with rapid, stable development. We hope that this new project will be the next step to expanding collaboration with our long-standing and trusted partner.”.

General Director of REGION Investment Company Sergei Sudarikov noted that UTair is one of the company’s key customers. “This transaction launches the new stage of cooperation. It is crucially important for us that we offer a financial product that directly contributes to the expansion of UTair activities and the implementation of its modernization program,” he said.

UTair has a 40-year experience of operating a range of Mil helicopter models in different regions. Mi-171 rotorcraft are operated in context of international contracts in Europe and in the performance of aerial operations in the oil and gas industry in Western and Eastern Siberia. The UTair helicopter fleet consists of more than 330 aircraft, including the Mi-26, which have the largest lifting capacity in the world.

UTair Aviation ranks among the top three Russian airlines. In 2011 UTair aircraft transported 6,750,425 passengers. In the period from January-October 2012 UTair Group serviced 31.4% more passengers than for the same period of 2011. In 2012 the airline expects an increased transport volume of up to 10 million passengers. The airline operates more than 200 fixed wing aircraft and performs flights to 110 destinations in Russia and aboard. The airline maintains its central hub at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, from which it performs 100 flights daily.