"Dagestani Airlines" promise to upgrade fleet in 2011

In 2011, the "Dagestani Airlines" Company plans to upgrade the fleet of aircrafts by replacing its obsolete Tu-154 aircrafts for modern models, said Deputy Director General Gadjikhan Keramaliev.

"Currently, airlines are writing off their Tu-154 aircrafts and switchover to modern vessels; this is also our way to progress," said Keramaliev.

He did not rule out possible correction of the plans in case of the expected privatization of the company. In this case, cadre reshuffling is also possible, the RIA "Dagestan" reports.

Now the "Dagestani Airlines", according to the company's website, operate 11 aircrafts, including Tu-154, Tu-134B and An-24RV.

The Tu-154 crafts are in operation of the company since 1995.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that starting December 6, 2010, the "Rostransnadzor" (Russian Federal Agency for Transport Supervision) began checking all Tu-154 aircrafts after the emergency landing of the Tu-154 belonging to the "Dagestani Airlines" in Moscow's Domodedovo Airport on December 4.

Meanwhile, on the first day of the new year, Russia saw another crash of a Tu-154 model. The Tu-154B of the "Kogalymavia" Company, which was going to fly from Surgut to Moscow, caught fire at the Surgut Airport immediately after starting the engines. As a result, three people died, 40 more were hospitalized with burns and carbon monoxide poisoning, while the craft burnt down completely.

After this incident, the "Rostransnadzor" ordered to stop any operation of Tu-154B aircrafts, which are now 14 in use in Russia, the "Pravda.ru" writes.