IrAero (IO, Irkutsk International) is considering adding B777-200 capacity to its fleet in the first quarter of 2018, Russian Aviation Insider reported.

The privately-owned carrier is reported to be looking into as many as three B777-200s to be added to the fleet in 2018. The new type would allow the airline to expand into long-haul operations, predominantly to China, thus serving the market niche left after the bankruptcy of VIM Airlines (Moscow Domodedovo) in October 2017.

The airline has already posted a job advertisement for flight and cabin crew on its website, but has quickly taken it offline, Russian Aviation Insider reports.

The new aircraft, some of which might be ex-VIM metal, are expected to be based out of an unspecified airport in Moscow.

According to the ch-aviation fleets modules, IrAero's jet fleet currently consists of three CRJ200s and nine SSJ 100/95s. In addition, IrAero also operate six An-24s and 13 An-26 aircraft, the latter both in cargo and passenger configuration. While the majority of its eighty-three weekly flights are domestic services in Russia, the airline also flies from Irkutsk International 2x weekly to each of Harbin and Manzhouli, as well as weekly from Krasnoyarsk Yemelyanovo to Manzhouli.