Red Wings has added a Tu-204-100B passenger aircraft with registration number RA-64043 to its fleet of Russian-made aircraft. The aircraft was leased from Ilyushin Finance Co (IFC), the airline’s press service said.
On 20 March, the aircraft took off from the runway of Ulyanovsk-Vostochny airport and, after several control circles, made a technical flight to Domodedovo airport, where Red Wings is based and from where it will operate commercial flights.
At the end of December 2023 the airline leased the first Tu-214 (RA-64518) restored to airworthiness. At the beginning of February 2024, the aircraft began flying on the Red Wings route network.
The Tu-204-100B RA-64043 was built in 2008 at the Ulyanovsk aircraft plant Aviastar-SP. The aircraft was operated by Red Wings Airlines until mid-2008, after which it was stored in Ulyanovsk. IFC restored the aircraft to airworthiness and returned it to commercial service.
The aircraft is powered by PS-90A engines. The full-load range is 3600 km, and the maximum range is 7000 km. The modernised cabin has a single class economy layout and can carry up to 210 passengers.
“We continue to bring our fleet of Russian aircraft back into service. Following the Il-96-400T freighter and the Tu-214 passenger aircraft, we are putting into commercial service a refurbished and fully prepared Tu-204. Together with the operator – Red Wings – we expect that the aircraft will effectively fulfil the airline’s tasks and please passengers,” said IFC General Director Mikhail Podkhvatilin at the aircraft handover ceremony in Ulyanovsk.
The restoration of airworthiness, organised by IFC, involved assessing the technical condition of the aircraft, moving the aircraft from long-term storage, carrying out maintenance forms and service bulletins, overhauling the engines, replacing defective and calendar-limited components and completely renovating the interior. As a result of the work carried out, the aircraft has been returned to a valid certificate of airworthiness.
Red Wings’ passenger fleet now consists of 19 SSJ100s, one Tu-204 and one Tu-214. Both Tupolevs are painted in the United Aircraft Corporation livery. In addition, the carrier operates cargo flights with IL-96-400Ts (under the Sky Gates Airlines brand) and IL-76TDs. The airline’s fleet also includes one aircraft of each type.
This makes Red Wings the only Russian airline to operate and maintain both passenger and freighter types of domestic aircraft.
