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Utair

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JSC "Utair Aviation"
ПАО «Авиакомпания «ЮТэйр»
IATA ICAO Call sign
UT[1] UTA[2] UTAIR[1]
FoundedFebruary 1967; 57 years ago (1967-02)
(as part of Aeroflot)
1991 (1991)
Hubs
Frequent-flyer programSTATUS
SubsidiariesUTair-Cargo
Fleet size59
Destinations53[3]
Traded asMCXUTAR
HeadquartersKhanty-Mansiysk, Russia
Key people
Websiteutair.ru

Utair (Russian: ОАО «Авиакомпания «ЮТэйр») (MCXUTAR) is a Russian airline with its head office at Khanty-Mansiysk Airport[4] while its hubs are at Surgut International Airport and Vnukovo International Airport. It operates scheduled domestic and some international passenger services, scheduled helicopter services, and extensive charter flights with fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters in support of the oil and gas industry across western Siberia.

History

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UTair's former logo

In February 1967, the Aeroflot Tyumen Directorate was set up to meet the transport requirements of the fast-growing oil and gas industry undergoing development in western Siberia.[5] In the wake of the break-up of the Aeroflot organization, Tyumenaviatrans Aviation (TAT) was formed in 1991 to replace the Aeroflot Tyumen Directorate.[6] TAT adopted the name of UTair in 2002.[6] The airline is owned by Khanty Mansiysk District administration (23%), Surgut City administration (19%), Russian shareholders and companies (33%), the Russian Federation (2%), and private foreign investors (20%).

In October 2010, Utair announced plans to replace its Tupolev Tu-134 fleet with the Sukhoi Superjet 100.[7] In December, UTair officially placed an order for 24 of the jets to enter service in 2013.[8] Also in 2010, the airline named a Tu-154 aircraft after Boris Evdokimovich Sherbina, a Tyumenfigure.[9]

In November 2014, Utair faced financial difficulties and was unable to make a bond payment.[10] In April 2015, Utair announced a fleet reduction of over 50 aircraft due to financial difficulty.[11] It also cancelled its order for 24 Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft.[12] A few weeks later, its regional airline subsidiary UTair Express ceased operations.[13]

In December 2015, it was announced that Utair sold its leisure subsidiary Azur Air to Turkish tourism company Anex Tourism Group, which had bought UTair-Ukraine a few weeks earlier.[14] On 31 October 2017, Utair announced its rebranding and changing its name from "UTair Aviation" to "Utair".[15]

On 8 April 2022 the US Department of Commerce restricted flights on aircraft manufactured in the US for Aeroflot, Aviastar, Azur Air, Belavia, Rossiya and Utair.[16] On 16 June the US broadened its restrictions on the six airlines after violations of the sanctions regime were detected. The effect of the restrictions is to ground the US-manufactured part of its fleet.[16]

Destinations

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As of November 2023, UTair serves eight countries with 123 routes.[3][17]

Codeshare agreements

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Utair has a codeshare agreement with following airlines:[18]

Fleet

[edit]
A Utair Boeing 737-400 wearing the airline's latest livery
Utair is one of the world's last operators of the Boeing 767-200ER (pictured in former livery).

Current fleet

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Except the ATR 72-500, Utair has an all-Boeing fleet. As of September 2024, the Utair mainline fleet consists of the following aircraft (excluding helicopters and subsidiaries' aircraft):[22]

Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
B E Total Refs
ATR 72-500 15 70 70 [23] One crashed
Boeing 737-400 6 6 144 150 [24] Including RA-73069 / MSN 28478, the last Boeing 737 Classic ever built.[citation needed]
Boeing 737-500 18 8 108 116 [25]
126 126
Boeing 737-800 17 8 165 173 [26]
Boeing 767-200ER 3 249 249 [27]
Total 59

Retired fleet

[edit]
A former Utair Tupolev Tu-154M

The airline used to operate these aircraft before.[28]

Aircraft Year introduced Year retired Notes
Airbus A321-200 2013 2015 The only Airbus aircraft in the fleet
Antonov An-24 1993 2014
ATR 42-300 2005 2014
Bombardier CRJ100LR 2010 2014
Bombardier CRJ200LR 2010 2014
Boeing 757-200 2010 2015
Boeing 767-300 2014 2015
Tupolev Tu-134 1999 2014
Tupolev Tu-154M 1992 2014 One of the last Russian operators of this aircraft
Yakovlev Yak-40 1992 2012
Yakovlev Yak-42 2006 2013

Accidents and incidents

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  • On 17 March 2007, UTair Flight 471, a Tupolev Tu-134, crash-landed at Samara, killing 7 people and injuring 26.[29]
  • On 2 July 2008, a Utair Mi-8 helicopter crashed in Yamal region, killing 9 and injuring 7 on board.[30]
  • On 16 January 2010, a Utair Boeing 737-500, registration VQ-BAC, overrun the runway on landing at Vnukovo International Airport and was substantially damaged when the nosewheel collapsed.[31]
  • On 20 December 2011, a Utair Mil Mi-26T helicopter crashed in an oilfield in Western Siberia; one person was killed. Utair grounded all its Mil Mi-26T helicopters following this incident.[32]
  • On 2 April 2012, UTair Flight 120, an ATR 72-200, registration VP-BYZ, crashed approximately 1.4 nautical miles (2.6 km; 1.6 mi) from Roshchino International Airport serving Tyumen, Western Siberia, on a flight to Surgut International Airport. The aircraft was carrying 39 passengers and 4 crew. To date, 10 survivors with serious injuries and burns have been confirmed.[33]
  • On 4 July 2012, a helicopter operated by Utair for an oil and gas company crashed in a remote area about 4 kilometers from the runway of Lensk Airport near Lensk. The wreckage was found several hours later and three bodies were recovered, with the fourth person presumed killed. The cause was not immediately known, but Utair grounded all aircraft at Lensk Airport pending an investigation into the quality of fuel supply at the airport.[34]
  • On 4 August 2018, an MI-8 helicopter belonging to Utair crashed about 180 km from the town of Igarka, in Krasnoyarsk Territory, killing all 18 on board.[35]
  • On 1 September 2018, Utair Flight 579, a Boeing 737-800, registration VQ-BJI, on a flight from Vnukovo with 164 passengers and 6 crew, overran the runway and caught fire while landing in Sochi, injuring 18 people.[36]
  • On 9 February 2020, Utair Flight 595, a Boeing 737-500 on a domestic flight from Vnukovo International Airport (Moscow), crash-landed at Usinsk Airport, Russia, following a landing gear collapse.[37] All 100 passengers and crew survived the accident.[38]
  • On 14 June 2024, Utair Flight 9706, an Antonov AN-26, crash-landed during approach at Utrenny Airport in foggy weather. Of the 41 people on board, 3 were injured.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Federal State Unitary Enterprise "State Air Traffic Management Corporation", Airline Reference, Vol. 1, Russian Federation, 20 February 2007, p. 500
  2. ^ ICAO Doc 8585
  3. ^ a b "UTair on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  4. ^ "2010 Annual Report." (Archive) UTair Aviation. 58. Retrieved on 27 February 2012. "Airport, Khanti-Mansiysk, Tyumen region, 628012 Russian Federation". - Russian (Archive): "628012, Российская Федерация, город Ханты-Мансийск, аэропорт"
  5. ^ Wragg 2007, p. 181.
  6. ^ a b Mills 2016, p. 52.
  7. ^ "UTAir selects two Superjet variants to replace Tu-134s". Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  8. ^ "Utair purchases 24 Sukhoi jets". Archived from the original on 20 August 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Utair names plane after Boris Sherbina." UTair Aviation. 19 February 2010. Retrieved on 2 March 2010.
  10. ^ Doff, Natasha (20 November 2014). "UTair Misses Bond Payment in Russia Funding-Crunch Sign". Bloomberg.
  11. ^ "44 Flugzeuge weniger: Utair dezimiert Flotte - aeroTELEGRAPH". aeroTELEGRAPH. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  12. ^ "Superjet Boost". Airliner World: 10. October 2015.
  13. ^ "Russia suspends UTair-Express' AOC". ch-aviation. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  14. ^ ch-aviation.com - Russia's UTair Group offloads Azur Air unit to Turkey's ATG 7 December 2015
  15. ^ "Авиакомпания "ЮТэйр" - Встречайте новый Utair". www.utair.ru (in Russian). ПАО «Авиакомпания «ЮТэйр». Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  16. ^ a b "US Broadens Restrictions on Belarus National Airline After Violations". VOA News. 16 June 2022.
  17. ^ "UTair Flights and Destinations - FlightConnections". www.flightconnections.com. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  18. ^ "Авиакомпания "ЮТэйр" - Авиакомпании-партнёры". utair.ru (in Russian). Utair. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  19. ^ Liu, Jim (26 April 2019). "FlyOne / Utair begins codeshare partnership from March 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  20. ^ Yuri Plokhotnichenko (2 June 2018). ""Руслайн" совместно с Utair намерен летать из Москвы в Саратов". travel.ru.
  21. ^ "Profile on UTair Aviation". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  22. ^ "Utair aircrafts [sic]". Utair. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  23. ^ "ATR 72-500 Salon scheme". Utair. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Boeing 737-400 Salon scheme". Utair. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  25. ^ "Boeing 737-500 Salon scheme". Utair. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  26. ^ "Boeing 737-800 Salon scheme". Utair. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  27. ^ "Boeing 767-200 Salon scheme". Utair. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  28. ^ "ЮТэйр Авиапарк". russianplanes.net.
  29. ^ "Seven die in Russian air crash". BBC News. 17 March 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  30. ^ "Крушение Ми-8: Оставшиеся в живых получили сильные ожоги – Ми-8, крушение – Росбалт-Север". Rosbalt.ru. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  31. ^ "Recent accidents / incidents worldwide". JACDEC. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  32. ^ "UTAir grounds Mi2-6 fleet after December crash". Flightglobal. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  33. ^ "Crash: Utair AT72 near Tyumen on April 2nd 2012, lost height in initial climb". Aviation herald. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  34. ^ "Utair helicopter crashes in Russia's Far East, killing 4". BNO News. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  35. ^ "Russian helicopter crash kills 18". BBC News. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  36. ^ "Russian air crash: Utair jet catches fire after landing at Sochi". BBC News. September 2018.
  37. ^ "Причиной жесткой посадки Boeing 737 в Коми мог стать резкий сдвиг ветра" (in Russian). Kommersant. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  38. ^ Дарья Шучалина (9 February 2020). "Лайнер приземлился на брюхо" (in Russian). Kommersant. Retrieved 19 April 2022.

Literature

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  • Wragg, David W. (2007). The World's Major Airlines. Sutton: Sutton Publishing. p. 303. ISBN 9780750944816.
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Media related to UTair Aviation at Wikimedia Commons