YanAir (YE, Kyiv Igor Sikorsky) is planning to replace its existing fleet of two B737-300s with additional B737 Classic equipment. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Yaroslav Agafonov told Forbes magazine in an interview that the -300s would be replaced with a second B737-400 and a first B737-500.

Currently, YanAir's operations focus on flights to Georgia and Israel from Kyiv Igor Sikorsky and Odesa with ACMI/charter services providing ancillary revenue.

However, according to Agafonov, the carrier is now looking to expand into Europe during the Summer 2018 season with focus on secondary airports such as Kraków John Paul II International in Poland, and Paderborn/Lippstadt or Frankfurt Hahn in Germany. Cyprus, Italy and Romania are also seen as potential growth markets, he added.

To that end, YanAir plans to evolve into a point-to-point operator avoiding the hub-and-spoke strategy pursued by local rival, Ukraine International Airlines (PS, Kyiv Boryspil). Though operations currently focus on Kiev and Odesa, Agafanov said Zhytomyr, located 130 kilometres west of Kiev, would likely become YanAir's third base once runway extension works have been completed. Lviv also holds potential but not before its fleet has grown by another two units, he said.