Aeroflot plans to buy 126 Russian airliners.
Russian flagship carrier Aeroflot yesterday announced plans to buy 126 Russian airliners before 2020. As of today, the company has only six Il-96 jets in its fleet and a contract for 30 Sukhoi Superjets. However, the delivery dates under that contract have been moved several times. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin insisted recently that Aeroflot buy Russian-made equipment.
According to Aeroflot's letter to the government, the company plans to buy up to 126 Russian jets before 2020, including 40 SSJ 100s, 11 An-148s and 25 An-140s, as well as 50 MS-21s currently in the pipelines. The company announced its plans to buy Russian equipment in the wake of a meeting between Aeroflot CEO Vitaly Savelyev and Prime Minister Putin on June 10.
"I need to know how many Russian-made jets Aeroflot will buy. Your company wants to dominate the domestic market without buying domestic equipment – no way," Putin said after hearing Savelyev's report.
Most of the 126 airliners were to be flown by companies Aeroflot expects to take over from Russian Technology. Market players believe that the 11 An-148 jets Savelyev wrote about will come from two deals currently underway: the Rossiya airline's contract for six An-148 airliners (nearly fulfilled but without an option) and another six ordered by Vladivostok Air. The 50 MS-21 jets will be purchased by Russian Technology, as was announced at the Farnborough International Airshow. As for the 25 An-140 jets, it is still unclear where these can be manufactured, because Samara-based Aviacor has not yet been assigned to the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), pending an official decision.
Savelyev had earlier mentioned plans to acquire 40 Superjets, 30 for Aeroflot and 10 for FLC Leasing. However, the latter was recently cut to only three planes.
UAC admits that right now, it does not control the production of the An-140, only ordering components from the plant. "As for the MS-21 supply contract, Aeroflot was not even mentioned. However, everybody knows that Russian Technology does not buy airliners for itself," a UAC source said.
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Aeroflot and its subsidiaries use 115 Russian-made aircraft. The company will also take delivery of 22 Boeing 787 and 22 Airbus А350 jets starting in 2016. The company will also acquire 11 A330s to replace the existing Boeing 767s; deliveries to begin next year.
Sergei Kolobkov