Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plans to take delivery of three new Boeing 737 airliners directly from the American aircraft manufacturer’s plant in 2018. Aron Mayberg, the head of the airline’s supervisory board, announced this at a press conference at the Boryspil airport on Thursday, the CFTS reports.
"Three Boeing 737-800 aircraft will be delivered from the manufacturer’s plant this year," Mayberg said.
As the CFTS reported earlier, the airline will increase its fleet of Embraer aircraft from 5 to 11 by the year 2020. The airline plans to purchase 2-3 such aircraft in 2018. According to Mayberg, the airline will give preference to Embraer 195 aircraft.
In addition, UIA intends to remove Boeing 737-300 and Boeing 737-500 aircraft from its fleet in in 2018.
"The airline will essentially stop operating classic medium-range aircraft (Boeing 737-300 and Boeing 737-500) this year. We are still operating them. We have four classic aircraft, which we will remove from our fleet in 2018. The Boeing 767 aircraft that the company operates on long-haul routes will be used until 2020. Two aircraft will leave our fleet in 2019 and the remaining two in 2020," Mayberg said.
The airline currently has a fleet of 43 airliners of various modifications, including 27 medium-haul Boeing 737 NG. All the shares in Ukraine International Airlines are privately owned. One of the airline’s ultimate beneficial owners is businessman Ihor Kolomoiskyi.
