Ural Airlines, one of Russia’s major air carriers, signed a memorandum on mutual understanding facilitating the acquisition of five new Airbus 320 planes from Airbus at the International Air Show in France. The $340-million deal is part of the carrier’s air fleet renovation program, Ural Airlines’ press officer reports.

'This is a big step for the company; we’ve already got two A-320 planes and have recently leased three more aircrafts: the first one is to arrive in December, the other two in the spring. Signing this acquisition agreement with Airbus is definitely our greatest achievement that will allow us to gradually replace the old planes, which, in its turn, is part of our re-branding campaign. The new planes are expected to raise our general safety level as well as help us cut back on fuel expenses. As a result, flights should become much more affordable,’ the carrier’s Commercial Director Kirill Skuratov observes.

‘The new liners are quite spacious and comfortable; they are fit for 160 passengers and offer two classes of seats. Ural Airlines intends to use them for international flights. We haven’t decided on the type of engine yet, though. At the moment, we’ve been using two A-320 planes for flights bound to Moscow, Hurgada, Sharm-El-Sheikh, Munich, Dusseldorf, Prague, Bangkok, Delhi, and Beijing,’ the company’s press officer says.

'We are quite happy that Ural Airlines chose the most efficient narrow-bodied aircraft there is to add to its fleet. We hope for a long-term partnership, too,’ says John Leahy, Airbus CFO.