Three Russian carriers - Aviastar-TU, Red Wings Airlines, and Volga-Dnepr Airlines - are considering the possibility of leasing three cargo and eight passenger aircraft to be restored by UAC United Aircraft Corporation, the business daily Vedomosti has reported.
Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed allocating RUB15.4 billion rubles (USD253 million) for the restoration of one An-124, two Il-96-400Ts, and eight Tu-204/Tu-214s, work that would be completed by 2024.
Red Wings has been in preliminary discussions on the terms of leasing some of the Tupolev Design Bureau narrowbody twinjets, a company representative told the newspaper, although he declined to say how many are of interest to the carrier.
Deliveries of the patched-up aircraft are possible starting in late 2022 or early 2023, a source close to United Aircraft Corporation parent Rostec said. Restored aircraft like these will be made available to passenger and cargo carriers that “have experience in operating Russian equipment,” the source cautioned.
The Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, headquartered at Star City, a highly restricted military facility northeast of Moscow and served by Moscow Chkalovsky airfield, is also holding talks on acquiring one of the Tupolev aircraft.
The restoration of aircraft has been mentioned in federal department proposals to ensure the continued functioning of the Russian economy while Western sanctions are imposed because of the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions regime has halted the supply of spare parts for Western-made aircraft. According to a Ministry of Industry and Trade draft resolution, the state is ready to supply up to 90% of the funds (or RUB13.86 billion; USD226 million) of the total sum needed for the restoration of the 11 jets.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Aviastar-Tu already operates four Tu-204-100s as well as four B757-200(PCF) and one B757-200(SF). Volga-Dnepr Airlines has ten An-124-100s, one An-124-100-150, and five Il-76TD-90VD. Red Wings Airlines operates one Tu-204-100 alongside nine SSJ 100/95Bs, nine SSJ 100/95LRs, three B777-200ERs, two A320-200s, and six A321-200s.
