Aeroflot turned down Utair offer
MOSCOW. June 3 (Interfax) - Aeroflot turned down an offer by Utair to buy its fixed-wing aircraft business, Aeroflot's deputy CEO, Shamil Kurmashov, told reporters.
"We received an offer three weeks ago," he said, adding that it did not interest Aeroflot because Utair's fleet and routes duplicated those of the Rossiya and Nordavia airlines.
UTair declined to provide detailed comment to Interfax regarding the Aeroflot announcement only saying that the company could produce an official statement for th media in the near future.
The Kommersant newspaper quoted sources as saying at the end of April that Utair was discussing the sale of its fixed-wing business with the City of Moscow, Lufthansa, Aeroflot and Sibir (S7) and the City of Moscow might be the most likely buyer as it would be able to use the planes to utilize the Vnukovo airport.
The reports said Utair would retain its helicopter fleet, which is one of the world's biggest. Utair, in which affiliates of oil producer Surgutneftegas are thought to own 75% of the shares, carried 3.53 million passengers last year.