St Petersburg-based carrier Rossiya has decided to increase its medium and short-range capacity by taking three more Airbus A319s and doubling its Antonov An-148 fleet.
Under a freshly-signed letter of intent with lessor CIT Aerospace, the airline is to receive three A319s in a two-class configuration in February, March and July 2012.
This will reinforce its Airbus fleet, which currently comprises nine A319s and six A320s, as well as allow Rossiya to phase out five Boeing 737-500s before 2013.
"Airbus aircraft already constitute the mainstay of our fleet," said a spokesman for Rossiya. "Afterwards, they will serve all our medium-range routes with An-148s deployed on shorter routes."
The airline has six An-148 regional jets. Citing improvements in their performance, general manager Sergei Belov in August confirmed plans to take two of the type in each of the following three years.
"Ignoring our pair of Boeing 767s, we'll basically have a two-type fleet composition which should lead to better asset manageability," said the spokesman.