The monthly utilization rate per one An-148-100 regional jet in the GTK Rossiya fleet has risen to 270 flight hours, which is good for the brand-new type at the entry-into-service.

The day of 21 December 2010 marked a complete calendar year since the An-148 commenced revenue operations in Russia with GTK Rossiya. This fact and the recent statistics were discussed at a specially assembled operators conference in Pulkovo airport of St. Petersburg. In the first year of revenue operations, Russian-made An-148s performed 1,875 scheduled flights in the central timetable to 26 destinations, and carried over 90 thousand passengers.

By December 2010 an average flight time per airframe had increased up to 270 flight hours. This compares to 150-160 flight hours a month for the RA-61701 when it entered service a year ago. IFC general director Alexander Rubtsov says the main target for 2011 is to increase the monthly utilization rate per airframe up to 330 flight hours. «We are fairly close to the target with the recently made aircraft which have most of the earlier discovered design and manufacturing flaws rectified. We continue working hand in hand with the aircraft developer, manufacturer and GTK Rossiya in order to make the An-148 a mature product able to compete successfully in the global market.»