AZAL Azerbaijan Airlines (J2, Baku Heydar Aliev International) will soon take delivery of its first B777-200(LR) which will be used as a VIP government transport, photos of the jet seen by ch-aviation have revealed.

4K-AZ01, which has already been painted in AZAL's standard livery, will be the first B777-200(LR) delivered in around five years. According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Boeing has produced just 59 units of the type, the last of which, P4-SKN (msn 60116), was delivered to the Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial (GGE, Malabo) in December 2014.

The largest operators of the B777-200(LR) are Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) and Emirates (EK, Dubai International) with ten units each. Other operators include Qatar Airways, Air Canada, Ethiopian Airlines, Air India, Turkmenistan Airlines, PIA - Pakistan International Airlines, Aviation Link, Comlux Aruba, Iraqi Airways, and White.

For its part, AZAL already operates a sizeable VIP fleet including one A319-100ACJ, one A320-200ACJ, one A340-600ACJ, and one B767-300(ER). The carrier also operates three A319-100s, six A320-200s, two A340-500s, three B757-200s, three B767-300(ER)s, two B787-8s, and eight E190(AR)s (operated by its low-cost division Buta Airways).