July / Aug, 2023
18/07/2023-01/08/2023
The CEO of Ural Airlines, Sergey Skuratov, has claimed that the airline intends to purchase 19 Airbus aircraft, which it is currently operating on lease agreements. Ural’s fleet consists exclusively of narrow-body Airbus models, and Skuratov claims to have received permission for the transaction from the relevant European Union and United States sanctioning bodies. The Ural CEO also added that the airline has expressed interest in potentially leasing 38 MS-21 aircraft, a Russian-manufactured narrowbody airliner due to enter commercial service in the coming years, towards the end of the decade. Skuratov has also suggested that a final decision regarding the Airbus purchase is expected within three weeks.
The United Aviation Corporation (UAC), which is responsible for overseeing the development of Russian domestic aircraft, has set out its plans for the production of new Russian aircraft models. According to the company’s general director for civil aviation, Andrey Boginsky, the UAC plans to produce 18 MS-21 aircraft, as well as 40 Sukhoi SuperJets by 2026. These production plans have faced numerous setbacks, largely due to lack of resources and issues related to sanctions, and the UAC now finds itself under pressure to deliver these new aircraft in the face of overwhelming demand from airlines. According to Boginsky, the corporation will produce six MS-21s in 2024, with the remaining twelve due in 2025. Boginsky also reiterated that deliveries of the first new Superjet aircraft, with Russian PD-8 engines installed, are still due to reach flag carrier Aeroflot by the end of 2023. Boginsky was pressured into making the assurances after Irkut’s Deputy General Director, Yuri Koritsky, inadvertently suggested that delivery to Aeroflot was not due until the third quarter of 2024 in a recent presentation. Despite a handful of setbacks, Boginsky insists that both projects are running according to schedule.
The Russian Federation has established a bilateral air service agreement to expand air transport networks, and boost tourism and trade with Tanzania, as well as aerospace collaboration agreements with the Central African Republic, and Burkina Faso. The agreements with Burkina Faso and the CAR, concluded by Alexander Neradko, the Russian head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, focus on airworthiness collaboration. The agreements state that the civil aviation bodies of the respective countries will collaborate in their technical programmes; airworthiness and maintenance have been sources of concern for Russia since the introduction of international sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Tanzanian agreement focuses on expanding air links between Russia and Tanzania, as the African county remains a popular tourist destination for Russians. As well as developing routes between the countries, the prospect of potential codeshare agreements was also discussed during negotiations.
As of 15 July 2023, Rosaviatsiya has successfully re-registered a total of 658 aircraft to the Russian civil aviation register as a response to international sanctions. This practice has been applied to aircraft from 30 different Russian airlines.
Sources:
Interfaks – Ural Airlines plans to purchase 19 of its Airbus aircraft (Russian)
gazeta.ru – UAC presents prodution plans upto 2026 (Russian)
RBK – Irkut gives timeframe for Superjet delivery to Aeroflot (Russian)
TASS – Russia and CAR to collaborate on airworthiness (Russian)
AEX – Russia and Burkina Faso agree on airworthiness collaboration (Russian)
The Citizen – What Tanzania-Russia aviation pact means (English)
AEX – Rosaviatsiya has reregistered almost 660 aircraft (Russian)