UTair Helicopter Services JSC and Russian Helicopters, a part of Rostec State Corporation, have signed an agreement for 50 Mi-171 (Mi-8AMT) helicopters. The document was signed by UTair's airline CEO Andrey Martirosov and general director of Russian Helicopters Andrey Boginsky, and provides for the supply of helicopters starting in 2022.

“We plan to use the 50 helicopters in the latest configuration to perform passenger and cargo transportation within the framework of the oil and gas projects of our customers, primarily in the Vostok Oil project of PJSC NK Rosneft,” Martirosov explains. “We perform our main flights in difficult climatic conditions on domestic aircraft manufactured by Russian Helicopters. We managed to jointly create a product, unique for the global helicopter market, with the highest level of flight safety at the lowest price for heavy helicopters. UTair already operates over 100 helicopters from the modern Mi-17 family. The 50 new aircraft are an important part of the implementation of our fleet management plan envisaged by UTair's financial model. The replenishment of the fleet will bring a positive budget effect and will create many new jobs for pilots.”

Boginsky adds: “UTair is the largest operator of Russian helicopters, and today's agreement is aimed at the timely and systematic renewal of the airline's fleet. One of the terms of the agreement is to further improve the efficiency of aircraft operation, which will make it possible to carry out flights with a crew of two. This option was implemented on another helicopter, the most modern Mi-171A2, the first operator of which was UTair.”

The UTair Group includes companies specialising in air and helicopter transportation, aircraft maintenance and personnel training. UTair Helicopter Services JSC is the largest helicopter company in the world in terms of fleet size and carrying capacity. The fleet has over 320 helicopters of various types, mainly from the Mil family and Airbus Helicopters.

Vostok Oil is the largest project not only for the Russian, but also for the world economy. The resource base is over six billion tons of premium low-sulphur oil. The project provides for the creation of tens of thousands of additional jobs. The implementation of the Vostok Oil project will give an impetus to the development of related sectors of the economy, such as mechanical engineering, metallurgy, power engineering, road construction, shipbuilding, and is expected to have a significant multiplier effect.

Within the framework of the XXIV St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, UTair Aviation PJSC and Rosneft Oil Company PJSC entered into an agreement on strategic cooperation in the provision of aviation services for a period of five years. The agreement is aimed at expanding cooperation between the parties in the provision of air transport services for rotational and cargo transportation within the Vostok Oil project and other oil and gas projects of Rosneft.