The new Ukrainian SkyUp Airlines (Kyiv) and Boeing Corporation have signed a contract for the amount of $624 million for production of five Boeing 737 MAX planes for the Ukrainian airline, the airline’s press service has reported. “There were no deals of this scape in the Ukrainian aviation industry in the past 10 years. SkyUp Airlines is a first airline in Ukraine which signed a contract on supply of next generation Boeing 737 MAX planes and paid the first tranche,” the airline said.
The order includes two next generation Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes and three medium-haul Boeing 737 MAX 10 planes. The five planes will be shipped from the plant in Seattle in 2023.
Under the contract, there is an option of ordering five more same planes with the similar delivery terms. Thus, the fleet of SkyUp Airlines would be expanded with 10 newest planes in 2023-2024.
“We are delighted that SkyUp Airlines will have Boeing aircrafts in its fleet. We studied all the modifications of aircraft for six months, compared the performance of competing companies and made calculations for our flight plans. Boeing 737 MAX aircraft replaced Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft and have excellent performance – technical reliability, low operating costs, a high level of comfort and, most importantly, safety of passengers. That is why we chose the high-tech Boeing 737 MAX planes,” SkyUp Airlines CEO Yevhen Khainatsky said.
According to him, Boeing 737 MAX 8 with a capacity of 189 seats will allow the airline to service medium-haul flights and Boeing 737 MAX 10 with a capacity of 230 seats will ensure the implementation of charter programs on popular destinations like Turkey, Egypt, Spain and other countries.
“Both types of aircraft have low operating costs, which will allow the airline to significantly reduce the cost of flights and offer a quality product at an affordable price to the market,” Khainatsky said.
