Russia and its airline Aeroflot are moving to import-substituted aircraft, starting with this order for 339 airliners.
Russia’s reliance on Airbus and Boeing for new aircraft looks like becoming a thing of the past. The country’s flag carrier, Aeroflot, has finally confirmed it is turning inwards by placing an order for 339 locally built aircraft. The order was signed at the Eastern Economic Forum being held from September 5 – 8 in Vladivostok.
Aeroflot picks new dance partners
According to ch-aviation.com, Aeroflot’s order comprises 210 Irkut MC-21-300s and 40 Tupolev Tu-214 narrowbodies and 89 Irkut SSJ 100/95-NEW regional jets, a revised version of the Superjet 100. In a sign of things to come, all these aircraft will be in ‘import-substituted’ form, which means Russian-made systems and components, including engines, will replace any from ‘unfriendly’ countries. The aircraft will come from state-owned technology business Rostec, whose general director, Sergey Chemezov, said:
“Boeing and Airbus aircraft, which are unlikely ever to be delivered to Russia again, will be replaced by Russian-made passenger aircraft.”
He added that “of the 339 aircraft, almost 300 are new-generation MS-21 and Superjet aircraft. The Tu-214 will become a reliable workhorse for them – this aircraft was previously produced for special customers and has proven itself well. The flagship in the Aeroflot fleet will be the MS-21.” The MC-21 and MS-21 refer to the same aircraft, with the nomenclature changing in translation.
The other little bit of possible confusion concerns who actually makes the aircraft. Irkut Corporation, part of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), makes the MC-21 and the SSJ, and United Engine Corporation will build the engines. All these companies are majority owned by Rostec, Russia’s state-owned aerospace and defense conglomerate.
The SSJ-100/95NEW is not yet certified, given its engines were previously made by PowerJet, a France-Russia joint venture between Safran and NPO Saturn. That formality will no doubt be quickly taken care of, and the aircraft will start delivering to Aeroflot in 2023. The new narrowbody MC-21 is also not yet certified, with the first deliveries of six aircraft expected in 2024. The Tu-214 is a variant of the Tu-204, which was first flown in 1996 but has undergone various upgrades since then. The Tu-214 is in production, and as Chemezov said, it’s made for special customers, which in Russia’s case means the government and military. When Aeroflot takes the keys to the first seven in 2024, it will become the first commercial operator of the type. The total order is due for delivery by the end of 2030.
The ch-aviation.com data shows that Aeroflot has a fleet of 305 aircraft, which includes 127 wet-leased in. The only Russian-built aircraft in the current fleet are 76 SSJ-100/95Bs, of which 72 are wet-leased and the other four shown as inactive. The bulk of Aeroflot’s fleet is 130 Airbus A320-family, 47 Boeing B737-800 and 29 B777-300 aircraft, some of which are also wet-leased.
The comfortable 777s are the aircraft of choice
The data shows that Aeroflot owns just 57 aircraft, with the balanced leased, although leased could be switched to held hostage. To make all this activity happen, the Russian state will subsidize the order, mainly to cover the early production costs of the new types, until Rostec ramps up to full production.
As an aside, Aeroflot is the official carrier for the Eastern Economic Forum, or 2nd International Tiger Forum as it’s also called. In a release, Aeroflot says it will transport participants to Vladivostok, around 8:40 hours flying time from Moscow, on “comfortable Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with liveries decorated with the Forum’s logo.” This comfortable 777 will also have “passenger cabins fitted with specially branded headrests.”
Is this really the start of the end for Airbus and Boeing in Russia?
