Ural Airlines and CFM International signed a contract for the delivery of fifteen CFM56-5B4/3 and CFM56-5B3/3 air engines for seven Airbus A 320 airplanes on April 3, 2004. The contract-signing ceremony was attended by Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government Viktor Koksharov and Sverdlovsk Region’s Deputy Minister for Industry and Science Anatoly Gredin. The sum of the transaction is reported to come to about $125m.

The preliminary agreement was signed in France last summer. The airline had to decide what time of aircraft to buy first, with the final price of an airplane depending on the equipment it would be fitted with and the kinds of parts and accessories used.

‘We coordinated a very thorough tender prior to deciding on CFM56-5B4/3 and CFM56-5B3/3 air engines. CFM was able to offer us the best terms regarding both the maintenance and the pricing policy,’ says Ural Airlines’ GD Sergey Skuratov.

The noise the engines produce is on the level that meets the environmental requirements; so is their emission level.

‘They are more reliable, more technologically advanced, and yet easier to maintain; in addition, these engines have a more detailed technical support package,’ the airline’s experts report.

It is expected that Russian experts will have become capable of repairing and maintaining CFM engines themselves by 2009, which will allow to cut down on scheduled repair expenses as well as customs duties.