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Quick Airline Information:

✈Airline IATA* code: PS
✈Airline ICAO* code: AUI 
✈Founded: 1 October 1992 
✈Website: www.flyuia.com
✈Alliance: None
History
Operations and Destinations 🌍
Fleet ✈️
Photo Slide 📷
Safety Video 🎬
Airline reviews 
*IATA: (International Air Transport Association)
*ICAO: (International Civil Aviation Organization)

History Menu:

✈Airline Beginnings

Ukraine International Airlines, is the national airline of Ukraine, it can trace its roots back to 1992, when the airline was established on 1 October and started operations on 25 November 1992 to London from Kiev, using new leased Boeing 737-400. The founding shareholders were the Ukrainian Association of Civil Aviation and Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA), an Irish aircraft-leasing company. In 1996, Austrian Airlines and Swissair became shareholders. The airline also began cargo operations with a Boeing 737-200 aircraft on 13 November 1994 to London and Amsterdam.

Ukraine International Airlines started operations in 1992 flying the Boeing 737-400 between Kiev and London. (Photo:aviation-spotting.com)

During the 1990's the airline expanded its network and introduced more aircraft to meet its route network requirements, it operated during the decade the  Boeing 737-200 (1994) and the 737-300 (1995)

The Boeing 737-200, despite being an older model was introduced in 1994. (Photo:planespotters.net)
The Boeing 737-300 joined in 1995 to help the airline expand its network. (Photo:planespotters.net)
✈Expansion and Development

In 2000, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development became a shareholder in the airline by investing $5.4 million. In 2001 the airline also introduced the Boeing 737-500 for shorter European routes. In 2006, UIA adopted a new classification system for freight operations, which allowed the airline to carry a wider range of goods, ranging from live animals to fresh food and valuable objects. Additionally, an express service was introduced to meet the needs of customers wishing to make use of expedited cargo delivery services. In 2009 it started to receive its Boeing 737-800 new generation aircraft and replaced the older -200/300/400 models. 

In 2009, the airline received its first Boeing 737-800, the backbone of the fleet. (Photo:airplane-pictures.net)

During 2011 to 2013, the airline introduced the Antonov AN-148 to its fleet for regional flights, however the airframe was not so popular and with higher costs it was retired a few years later. In 2013, due to the demise of competitor Aerosvit, UIA launched new flights from Ukraine to  Baku, Yerevan, Larnaca, Munich, Warsaw, Vilnius, Prague, Athens,  Batumi, Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Saint Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Nizhnevartovsk, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi and Bishkek. 


With the increase of destinations, the airline opted to start flying its first wide bodied aircraft. In April 2013 the first of 3 Boeing 767-300 was delivered to the airline for long haul destinations, also during 2013 the stretch version of the Boeing 737-900 arrived to help with the expansion. For regional flights, the Embraer E190 arrived also in April 2013 to replace the AN-148 and fly domestic and new regional routes to the CIS.

For a few years the airline operated the Antonov 148 for regional flights. (Photo:jetphotos.com)
After a period of expansion the airline began to introduce wide bodied jets from 2013, like the Boeing 767-300. (Photo:airplane-pictures.net)
The Embraer E190 also forms the regional backbone of the fleet offering comfortable flights around Europe and the CIS. (Photo:airliners.net)

In October 2015 UIA was banned by Russian government from flying to Russian destinations as a response to a ban by Ukrainian government of Russian airlines from flying into Ukraine. Since June 2016 UIA's changed its baggage policy for international flights, which are sold with the basic "hand luggage-only tariff". 

✈Recent History and Growth

In March 2018, Ukraine International announced a fleet modernisation plan. The first Boeing 777-200ER pre-owned by the airline arrived in February 2018, to add extra capacity of popular routes to Asia. The airline also took delivery of several Boeing 737-800 and Embraer 195 aircraft during the year to replace the last Boeing 737 Classics.

The airline was due to take delivery of the first of Boeing new generation 737 Max 8 in 2019, but this has now been on hold pending the type reintroduction into service after it was grounded in early 2019.


Source: Wikipedia.org + planespotters.net

The newest aircraft for Ukraine International is the Boeing 777-200ER, delivered in 2018. (Photo:airplane-pictures.net)

Operations and Destinations 🌍:

The airline is the flag carrier of the Ukraine and the largest airline of Ukraine, with its main hub at Kiev Boryspil International Airport. It operates domestic and international passenger flights and cargo services to 80 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, the United States, Canada and Asia. As a curiosity, it's interesting to note that Ukrainian International Airlines doesn't fly to any Russian destinations, despite the proximity. This is due to the conflict of interests between the two nations which started back in 2014. 


The airline now offers a similar low cost airline model of service with basic fares only including hand luggage. However when booking long haul flights baggage is included in the ticket as well as meals on the long sectors. 


The destinations* served by Ukraine International Airlines are:

Region 🗺️ Destinations 🌍🌎🌏
✈Ukraine (domestic)
Chernivtsi, Dnipro, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kiev, Kharkiv, Kherson, Lviv, Odessa, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhia
 ✈CIS
Almaty, Astana, Baku, Minsk, Yerevan
 ✈EuropeAlicante, Amsterdam, Ankara, Athens, Barcelona, Batumi, Bergamo, Berlin, Bologna, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Burgas, Chișinău, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Helsinki, Istanbul, Izmir, Kraków, Larnaca, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Nice, Palanga, Palma de Mallorca, Paris, Prague, Riga, Rome, Salzburg, Sofia, Split, Stockholm, Tbilisi, Valencia, Venice, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw, Zürich
 ✈Asia Bangkok, Beijing, Colombo, Delhi
 ✈North America
 New York (JFK), Toronto
✈The Middle East Amman, Dubai, Tehran, Tel Aviv
✈Africa  Cairo

*Destination list is for reference only. Please check directly with the airline for updates. 

*Note some destinations are only seasonal.*Correct info as of May 2019.                                

Fleet ✈️:

The airline has made great improvements to its fleet in the last decade to phase out old classic models and some Soviet era planes in place of new Boeing planes for its entire fleet plus it also operates Embraer jets for domestic and regional flights. For long haul flights it recently introduced new Boeing 777-200ER and for short to medium haul it will receive new Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft once the type has been recertified.


The fleet* of Ukraine International Airlines consists of the following aircraft:

Network  🌐 Aircraft ✈️
✈Short, Regional and Medium Haul Boeing 737-800/900, 737 Max-8 (on hold). Embraer 190/195
 ✈Long haul
 Boeing 767-300, 777-200ER
*Correct fleet info as of May 2019.       

Ukraine International Photo Slide 📷:​

Ukraine International Safety Video (B777-200)  🎬:​

Reviews ⭐:

 Competitive fares and times👎 Not integrated in any global alliance.
Best airline for travelling to the Ukraine👎 Limited routes in Western Europe. 
 Easy transfer and connections at Kiev International Airport.👎Limited long haul flights to selected destinations.
Professional service and service minded crew.👎 Food and drink on-board only for purchase on short/medium routes (except water)
New Aircraft entering the fleet, Boeing 737-800 and Max-8👎 Only one item of hand luggage at 7KG. (extra hand luggage item €15)
👎Must print boarding pass at home/mobile. Airport charge €15 without it. (print for free at self-service Kiosk up to 2 hours before the flight).