Russian Helicopters to sell 40 Mi-171 helicopters to UTair

The Russian Helicopters holding initialed a deal on Tuesday to sell 40 Mi-171 helicopters to Russia's UTair airlines, the company's director said on Tuesday. Company head Dmitry Petrov said the deal, worth 11 billion rubles ($380 million), would be signed on Wednesday on the sidelines of the six-day air show MAKS-2011 that opened near Moscow on Tuesday. UTair, a leading airline in Russia and former Soviet republics, presently has 50 Mi-171 helicopters in its fleet. Petrov said the new helicopters would be supplied in 2012-2013. Mi-171 is capable of transporting 37 passengers to a distance of 610 km (380 miles) at a speed of 250 kmph. Its loading capacity is four tons. Alexei Budnik, head of the fleet management at UTair, said the company was also in talks over buying 10 light Mi-34S1 helicopters by the end of 2011.