Red Wings Airlines will return 4 Tupolev Tu-204/214s to the sky after renovations

Tupolev Tu-214 (RA-64518) prepared for introduction into the Red Wings airline fleet after receiving the so-called total maintenance and restoration phase.
Here in this video the passage of the aircraft to Spektr-Avia in Uljanovsk to receive the new UAC livery.

And just today the acceptance ceremony of the Tu-214 to Red Wings Airlines took place with the signing of the relevant certificate at Kazan International Airport by IFC General Director Mikhail Podkhvatlin and Deputy General Director for Red Wings Fleet Management Ekaterina Rukhlova.

The maximum range of this Tu-214 exceeds 7,000 km and with a full commercial load it can carry passengers over a distance of up to 5,200 km. The updated cabin has a single-class economy class layout for 194 passengers.

The aircraft was produced at the Kazan Aviation plant in 2009, equipped with Russian PS-90A engines. It has modern navigation and rescue equipment and meets all current global requirements for an aircraft of its class. Until 2017 the aircraft was operated by Transaero and Red Wings airlines. As part of the airworthiness restoration works organized by Ilyushin Finance Co., an assessment of the technical condition, removal of the aircraft from storage, general overhaul of the engines, replacement of defective and time-limited components and a complete renovation of the interior. The aircraft then performed several flights which confirmed its compliance with all standards and the certificate of airworthiness of the aircraft was received on 20 December 2023.

“We continue to work to bring Russian aircraft back into service: after the Il-96-400T cargo ship, today the Tu-214 passenger aircraft returned to service, having undergone all the necessary maintenance. Next year we will continue the transfer of aircraft. I thank everyone who is taking part in solving this important task and, together with my colleagues from Red Wings, we hope that the aircraft will operate successfully for the benefit of the airline and passengers" - said Mikhail Podkhvatlin.

📽 📷 Today, December 28, the Tu-214 with registration RA-64518 was transferred back to the Red Wings fleet. The aircraft was initially transferred to Transaero airline in October 2009 and had a two-class layout with business class cabins with 8 seats and economy class with 176 seats, and in August 2016, after the bankruptcy of Transaero, it was transferred to the Red Wings.
With the new company the airliner operated commercial flights for only 3 months, from June to September 2017. The aircraft was taken out of service and spent 6 years in storage in Kazan.

Last September the airliner took flight to Ulyanovsk, where it received UAC's corporate livery, after which it returned to Kazan the following October. The aircraft has a single-class layout: the cabin is equipped with 194 economy class seats. This aircraft will be operated in UAC's corporate livery.

Red Wings Airlines will return 3 more Tu-204/214s to the sky.