I am an airliner that left its signature in the landmark of world aviation in the seventies and eighties
I am the Russian equivalent of the Boeing 727 and the Hawker Siddeley Trident. Hence, I am a 3 rear-mounted-engine medium – range, narrow-body aircraft capable of cruising at 975 km/h making me one of the fastest civilian aircraft. and having a range of 3280mi and I could operate transcon operations . Imagine if AA, UA or DL would have chosen me instead of the B727. As my counterparts the TU104/124/134, my wing is anhedral (downward sweep) whereas the B727’s wing is dihedral (upward sweep). I was conceived as a replacement of the Tu104 . My maiden flight occurred on Oct 5, 1968 and first commercial services was operated by Aeroflot in February 1972 from MOW to MRV (Mineralnye Vody) and first international flight from MOW to PRG in August of the same year. Contrary to the B727 and the HS trident, my over sized landing gears allow me to be operated from the unpaved runways a great plus in the USSR.The 154M version first flew in  1982 having for more fuel efficient Soloviev Turbofans, new double-slotted  flaps  instead of triple sloted ones and  increased MTOW .
Almost all COMECON countries counted me in their fleet and many of USSR allies such as CUBANA, SYRIANAIR, ARIANA,  and EGYPTAIR :
Some pictures of this beautiful aircraft :

COMECON COUNTRIES



"Tupolev Tu-154M, CCCP-85631, Aeroflot" by Ralf Manteufel - http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1227671/. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.







"Tupolev Tu-154B-1, Balkan - Bulgarian Airlines AN1150720" by Tim Rees - Gallery page http://www.airliners.net/photo/Balkan---Bulgarian/Tupolev-Tu-154B-1/1150720/L Photo http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/0/2/7/1150720.jpg. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.



"Interflug Tupolev Tu-154M Manteufel" by Ralf Manteufel - http://www.airliners.net/photo/Interflug/Tupolev-Tu-154M/1353218/L/. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.



"Tupolev Tu-154M, LOT - Polish Airlines - Polskie Linie Lotnicze AN0555872" by Pedro Aragão - Gallery page http://www.airliners.net/photo/LOT---Polish/Tupolev-Tu-154M/0555872/L Photo http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/2/7/8/0555872.jpg. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.



"CSA Tupolev Tu-154M Durand" by Alain Durand - http://www.airliners.net/photo/CSA---Ceskoslovenske/Tupolev-Tu-154M/1059649/L/. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.



"Tupolev Tu-154B, Tarom AN1130517" by Tim Rees - Gallery page http://www.airliners.net/photo/Tarom/Tupolev-Tu-154B/1130517/L Photo http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/7/1/5/1130517.jpg. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.





"Tupolev Tu-154B-2, Malev - Hungarian Airlines AN1046756" by Tim Rees - Gallery page http://www.airliners.net/photo/Malev---Hungarian/Tupolev-Tu-154B-2/1046756/L Photo http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/6/5/7/1046756.jpg. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.



"Cubana Tupolev Tu-154B-2 Regis" by Régis Sibille - http://www.airliners.net/photo/Cubana/Tupolev-Tu-154B-2/1327465/L/. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.





"CAAC Tupolev Tu-154 Goetting" by Felix Goetting - http://www.airliners.net/photo/CAAC/Tupolev-Tu-154M/0819835/L/. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.


OTHER SELECTED COUNTRIES




"Guyana Airways Tupolev Tu-154B Groves" by Clint H Groves - http://www.airlinefan.com/airline-photos/large/8348129/Guyana-Airways/Tupolev/Tu-154/YR-TPJ/. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.



"Tupolev Tu-154B-2, Air Koryo AN0208147" by JetPix - Gallery page http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Koryo/Tupolev-Tu-154B-2/0208147/L Photo http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/7/4/1/0208147.jpg. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.


"Syrianair Tupolev Tu-154M Hoppe" by Perry Hoppe - http://www.planepictures.net/netshow.php?id=1046767. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.





"Ariana Afghan Airlines Tupolev Tu-154M Haafke" by Udo Haafke - http://www.airliners.net/photo/Ariana-Afghan-Airlines/Tupolev-Tu-154M/1706790/L/. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.

URAL AIRLINES OLD LOGO

URAL AIRLINES NEW LOGO

Postcard of  RA-85844 from the KS collection

I welcome you aboard Ural Airlines Tupolev 154M . I am based in a city that will live for ever in infamy and shame “YEKATERINBURG”. The town entered history when the destitute tsar Nicolas II and his family were brutally and cowardly murdered at the Ipatiev house. This murder will give the birth of one of the most controversial legend of the 20th century : “what happened to daughter Anastasia”. My name was changed to Sverdlovsk in 1924 to regain its shameful original name in 1991 after the fall of communism. Boris Yeltsin is one of the most famous native of the city.
The company was part of the AEROFLOT group of companies (former division of SU known as Sverdlosk Air Enterprise) until 1993 when it split up with SU following the drastic changes witnessed by the Russian commercial aviation industry. It became a joint-stock company.
At the time of the split, the company operated only soviet planes : the Antonov 24, The Illyushin 86

"Ilyushin IL-86, Ural Airlines JP7551621" by Aktug Ates - Gallery page http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=7551621 Photo http://images3.jetphotos.net/img/4/4/9/9/31194_1359403994.jpg. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.


 and  almost all the variants of the  Tupolev 154  (of which 20  frames were utilized) . By October 16 2011 , the company had retired its last Tupolev 154M 

HERPA MODEL 1/500 from the KS private collection

 and the fleet consists nowadays of Western equipment :
6 Airbus 319 (6C/126Y),


"VP-BTE (14592616385)" by Alec Wilson from Khon Kaen, Thailand - VP-BTE. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.


18 Airbus A320 (12C/144Y)


"VQ-BFW Airbus A.320 Ural Airlines (7272548410)" by aeroprints.com. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

 and 10 Airbus A321 , 7 with dual class (16C/182Y) configuration and 3 in all Y configuration (220 Y) for charter work.

"Ural Airlines Airbus A321 Simon" by Ole Simon - http://www.airliners.net/photo/Ural-Airlines/Airbus-A321-211/1555951/L/. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.



The network of the company stretches from the East of Russia to the West of Russia providing to its clients a seamless travel from Moscow and St Petersburg to Vladivostock, Irkustk, Khabarovsk, the summer and winter resorts of the Black Sea : Sochi and Simferopol (see map)

URAL AIRLINES WINTER 2015/2016 domestic  destinations

International destinations are rather limited with Tel Aviv, Prague, Dubai, Bangkok, Beijing, Prague and Munich,



URAL AIRLINES WINTER 2015/2016 International destinations

OTHER SHOTS OF THE TUPOLEV 154M OF URAL AIRLINES

HERPA MODEL 1/500 from the KS private collection

HERPA MODEL 1/500 from the KS private collection

HERPA MODEL 1/500 from the KS private collection

"Ural Airlines Tupolev Tu-154M Dvurekov-1" by Igor Dvurekov - http://russianplanes.net/id58039. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.



"Туполев Ту-154 03A992, Москва - Домодедово RP1448" by Alex Beltyukov - Photo http://russianplanes.net/images/to2000/001448.jpg Gallery page http://russianplanes.net/f%21b%21t%21a%21c%21d%21l20%21g%21m34%21s0%21u%21r%21k%21v%21h%21i%21reg%21ser%21n%21p29. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper - copyright © Karl L. Swartz.