OREANDA-NEWS. UTair Aviation has taken delivery of its first Airbus A321 equipped with new fuel-efficient Sharklet wing tips. This is the 5th of 20 such Airbus aircraft to be delivered under the terms of a contract signed in 2012.

The new 2.4 meter-high Sharklets are made from composite materials that enhance the aerodynamic properties of the aircraft and offer a 4% reduction in fuel consumption while reducing CO2 and NOx emissions. Moreover, the addition of Sharklets can increase the flight range and payload capacity.

Under the terms of the contract the A321 aircraft come equipped with CFM56-5B engines and single class configuration with a maximum capacity of 220 passengers. UTair plans to operate these aircraft on domestic and international routes with high passenger volumes. UTair expects to receive 7 additional A321 aircraft by the end of 2014.

UTair Aviation is the core enterprise of UTair Group and consists of companies performing aircraft operations with fixed and rotary wing aircraft as well asenterprises offering MRO, personnel training, flight services and air transportation sales services. The Group includes UTair-Express, UTair-Ukraine, UTair-Helicopter Services, UTair-Cargo, Turuhan Airlines, Vostok Airlines, Helisur, UTair Europe, UTair South Africa, and UTair India as well as UTair-Technik, UTair-Engineering and other enterprises. UTair Group headquarters are located in Surgut. The airline operates more than 150 fixed wing aircraft and 350 helicopters. In 2013 UTair aircraft transported 10,413,803 passengers, 10.96% more than in 2012. UTair Group passenger turnover demonstrated YoY growth of 15.7% in 2013 and achieved a combined 18,591,544.7 PKM. Logged flight time of company's helicopters amounted to 169,519 hours.

The Airbus A320 aircraft family, including A318, A319, A320 and A321 models, marks a new standard for fuel efficiency and comfort among narrow-body aircraft. These aircraft have the widest cabin and the lowest fuel consumption per passenger. Airbus has sold more than 9,600 aircraft in the A320 family and has delivered 5,600 aircraft to 385 customers and operators around the world. Because the jetliners offer extended intervals between maintenance, their operators carry the lowest operational expenses for aircraft in this category.