Aeroflot Group has formalised its order for 339 Russian-made aircraft from state-owned industrial holding Rostec, comprising 210 MC-21-300 and forty Tu-214 narrowbodies, and eighty-nine SSJ 100/95-NEW regional jets.
"Boeing and Airbus aircraft, which are unlikely ever to be delivered to Russia again, will be replaced by Russian-made passenger aircraft. 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," Rostec General Director Sergey Chemezov said.
Deliveries of the newly-ordered SSJ100/95-NEWs will begin with the first two due in 2023. The regional jet is currently the only one certified and in production of the three types on order although the MC-21-300, a clean-sheet narrowbody design, is in the process of being type certified. Aeroflot Group expects to take the first six MC-21s in 2024. The Tu-214, a late Soviet-era design, is in production but only via special order and exclusively for the Russian government and military. Aeroflot Group will therefore become the type's first commercial operator when it takes the first seven units in 2024. All aircraft are scheduled to deliver by the end of 2030.
All three types will be delivered in "import-substituted" variants, i.e. with Russian components (including engines) replacing the Western-made parts. The SSJ100/95-NEW is yet to be certified, as the original variant was powered by PowerJet SaM146 engines manufactured by the Franco-Russian JV between Safran and NPO Saturn.
While Aeroflot Group did not reveal where the new aircraft would be placed among its various AOCs, it has previously announced that all SSJs and MC-21s would be operated by Rossiya with Aeroflot focussing on Western-made aircraft. However, these plans were made before the imposition of international sanctions, which prevent Russian airlines from sourcing any Western-made aircraft on the open market.
The final Rostec order is larger than previously speculated. In late August 2022, Aeroflot itself indicated that it was planning to order 323 aircraft.
The order will be partially subsidised by the Russian state through the National Welfare Fund, which will cover the additional cost of manufacturing the first jets before Rostec's subsidiary UAC United Aircraft Corporation can lower its unit cost by ramping up output. Aeroflot Group will lease all 339 aircraft.
