UTair-Express (Syktyvkar) has begun deploying its first ATR72-500 transferred from parent UTair (UT, Khanty-Mansiysk) onto a twice daily Moscow Vnukovo - Voronezh Chertovitskoye service. According to an ATO.ru interview with Andrey Martirosov, the CEO of parent company, UTair, the move to transfer the props to the subsidiary is part of a grand plan to specialize each of its subsidiaries into operating particular aircraft suitable for particular routes with the overall aim of reducing maintenance costs through fleet-homogeneity. Among other shifts in UTair's fleet strategy are the retirement of UTair Express' five Tu-134s in 2014 along with UTair's fleet of seven Tu-154s which will be gone by year end, Mr Martirosov said. Interestingly, UTair-Express' fleet of An-24s, used on flights to remote airfields, will likely be kept operational for another 10-20 years as the cost of acquiring new aircraft would likely prove uneconomical. The Russian carrier is also mulling the expansion of operations at Katekavia (Sharypovo) in which it acquired a 25% stake in October 2012. In the long-run, Mr Martirosov says UTair itself will only operate four types of aircraft: B767-200s, B757-200s, A321-200s and B737s.