The board of directors at Ilyushin Finance Company (IFC) has given its consent to the proposed acquisition of a 74% stake in Red Wings Airlines (WZ, Moscow Domodedovo) the Tass news agency has reported.
The deal is part of a debt-for-equity swap between the carrier and the lessor. Red Wings leases its entire fleet of five SSJ 100/95s and nine Tu-204s from the IFC and is known to have an outstanding account with the firm. As such, the exact financial dimensions of the deal have not been disclosed.
Red Wings operates scheduled and chartered flights across Russia as well as to leisure destinations in the Mediterranean and the CIS. Ex-Transaero Airlines (Moscow Vnukovo) Tu-214s are also being looked at for use on flights to Simferopol as well as to cities in Western and Central Siberia. The Tu-204(F) freighter variant is also under consideration Red Wings CEO Evgeny Klyucharev confirmed last year.
