UKRAINE INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES (UIA) OPENS CENTER FOR TRAINING FLIGHT CREWS ON OPERATION OF BOEING 737-300/400/500 AIRPLANES
UIA has a fleet of 17 Boeing airplanes, including 16 passenger and one cargo airplane.

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, February 10, 2009 

KYIV - Ukraine International Airlines (Kyiv) has opened its own center for training flight crews. The press service of Ukraine International Airlines [UIA] announced this to Ukrainian News.

Ukraine International Airlines has received from the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine a certificate that grants it the right to organize the operations of its own training center, the press service said. This center trains pilots, air stewards, and flight controllers.

The center will provide theoretical and practical courses on operation of Boeing 737-300/400/500 airplanes, train flight crews on flight safety, and provide intensive courses in the English language.

In addition to theoretical training at the companys own training center, the program for training the airline companys pilots includes mandatory training at the Boeing concerns Alteon centers as well as at Oxford Aviation Academy in London, the press service said. The airline company is implementing a special program involving selection and training of pilots until the year 2015.

This program was developed to take account of the planned modernization of the airline companys fleet of aircraft and provides for training flight crews to operate Boeing 737-800 airplanes. The airline company plans to increase its flight crew in the course of 2009. Thirty people are already at various stages of training as of today, the press service said. The airline company presently employs 140 pilots.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Ukraine International Airlines was founded in 1992. The airline company increased passenger transportation by 0.24 million or 16.665 to 1.68 million in 2008, compared with 2007. The airline company reported a net profit of UAH 41.893 million for the year 2007, when its net revenues increased by UAH 332.91 million or 36.12% to UAH 1.255 billion compared with 2006.

The state owns 61.6% of the shares in Ukraine International Airlines (the State Property Fund manages these shares), Austrian Airlines owns 22.5%, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development 9.9%, and the Aer Cap leasing company (Ireland) owns 6%. The airline company has a fleet of 17 Boeing airplanes, including 16 passenger airplanes and one cargo airplane.

NOTE:  Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) and Boeing are members of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Washington, D.C., www.usubc.org.