LONDON – According to the Kremlin, Russian carrier Aeroflot looks set to order over 300 Russian-built aircraft as the country’s aircraft program continues to ramp up.

This was revealed via a meeting set with Aeroflot CEO Sergei Aleksandrovsky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Aleksandrovsky said the following on the order:

“We plan to contract a total of 323 domestic aircraft, including 73 Sukhoi Superjet, 210 MC-21 – this is already in a new look, with Russian engines, imported aircraft, as well as 40 Tu-214 aircraft.”

“These are very significant volumes and will, of course, require additional resources from us.”

“It will be necessary to increase and attract additional pilots in the amount of about 3.5 thousand people for this program, it will also require eight full-flight simulators, that is, this is a serious impetus for the development of the company not only in the medium but also in the long term, I would say.”

Putin openly commented and said that “there has not been such an order for a long time”, stating that the country needs “to arrange maintenance, spare parts so that all this is possible.”

On The Topic of Subsidies…

Aeroflot has been heavily supported by the Russian government, with up to 50 billion rubles at present. Aleksandrovsky expanded on this more to President Putin:

“On the whole, I assess the situation very positively and stably, especially within the framework of 2022. We fly actively thanks to government support measures, first of all, of course, your support, Vladimir Vladimirovich, and the Government of the Russian Federation.”

“In addition to subsidies for passenger traffic – 50 billion – other subsidies were allocated for the return of Aeroflot Group tickets – 15 billion, we have already received 12.5 [billion].”

“It was also decided to increase the authorized capital of Aeroflot Group, Aeroflot directly, in order to close our debts under letters of credit, we also discussed this at our meetings.”

“All these measures, in my opinion, are sufficient, effective, and exhaustive for Aeroflot Group. We have received all the necessary support from the state.

“This, in turn, allows us to increase the volume of traffic this year. Despite the fact that a number of southern airports have been closed, we have refocused demand on demanded alternative destinations.”

“We now fly to 111 destinations, which is 18 destinations more than in 2021. In a number of areas, we have significantly increased our volumes, for example, in the direction of Moscow – St. Petersburg from 31 frequencies daily to 45 [frequencies].”

“In Sochi, we increased from 15 to 25 daily frequencies, in Minvody – from two to eight daily frequencies. And in a number of other areas, there was also a significant increase. These are the most illustrative examples.”

“Including measures of support from the state, we were allowed to keep and keep the price offer for our citizens. Everyone predicted that there would be an increase in the cost of passenger transportation in 2022, but this did not happen.”

“Moreover, for Aeroflot, relative to 2021 by 2022, we note a decrease of up to ten percent by 2021, and by 21 percent by 2019, which, in the current conditions, is, of course, very much in demand by our citizens. And we see a significant increase in downloads.”

“Our most efficient company is the low-cost carrier Pobeda: it has an average load of 95 percent, as in previous years. But I can note that this year Aeroflot is also distinguished by a very high level of occupancy in the summer months. Now it is somewhere between 91-95 percent – for Aeroflot, this is a very high load.”

Overall…

It remains clear that Aeroflot will remain a key part of Russia’s expansion of its aviation production strategy. Over 300 aircraft being ordered is a big stimulation to the Russian economy.

With Rostec looking to produce over 110 commercial aircraft by 2025 and over 500 by 2030, this would be a significant increase in overall production.

Ultimately, this is going to result in Rostec being a substantial player in aviation, particularly for Russian carriers and those in the Commonwealth and Independent States moving forward.