Russian Flag Carrier: The Current State Of Aeroflot's Fleet

Aeroflot was two years into an eight-year-long plan to reshape itself as a world-leading carrier. However, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to severe economic sanctions, cutting airlines off from any aviation products or services. So how does this bode the airline's fleet?

What the fleet looks like?

Before we look at the airline's future, let's take a look at the planes Aeroflot currently operates. The carrier flies a fleet of 184 aircraft, featuring a mix of Airbus and Boeing jets, along with a few Sukhoi Superjets. Here's the summary:

- 54 Airbus A320-200s

- 37 Boeing 737-800s

- 33 A321-200s

- 22 777-300ERs

- 10 Sukhoi Superjet 100s

- 7 A350-900s

- 6 A320neo

- 3 A321neos

Aeroflot's fleet has become more and more westernized in the last two decades as it became a mainstream global carrier. This coincided with the end of Soviet-era passenger planes, with only a few remaining in service today. By the end of this year, there would be no Russian planes in Aeroflot's fleet under the 30/30 plan. But this may not be true anymore.

Impact

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, countries all over the world have imposed heavy economic sanctions. Aeroflot has been in disaster management ever since, being forced to shut down routes due to loss of overflight rights and eventually canceling all but one international flight (to Minsk, Belarus).

However, the biggest risk of Aeroflot is the one to its fleet. Data from ch-aviation shows that nearly all of the airline's planes are leased, meaning they could be at risk of termination or seizure. In recent weeks, lessors have made the decision to fly back planes being used by Russian carriers or seize them wherever possible. This doesn't apply to homegrown lessors or those from allied companies, but western firms and big names like AerCap and GECAS are all looking to exit Russia as soon as possible.

Aeroflot's fleet relies more heavily on Russian and Chinese lessors, making them less likely to be seized immediately. However, this is only part of the picture. Many Russian aircraft are registered in faraway countries like the Falkland Islands, St. Helena, and Bermuda for tax reaons, giving those countries authority over issuing airworthiness certificates. Bermuda has already stopped signing this document, making hundreds of planes unable to fly abroad. However, Russia is looking for a way to work around these sanctions to protect its aviation industry.

Re-register

Sanctions require that lessors terminate all leasing contracts with Russian airlines by 28th March at the latest. To prevent a fleet exodus, Putin recently signed a bill that will allow foreign aircraft to be re-registered in Russia, ensuring its continued operations (at least domestically). However, re-registering an aircraft without a certificate of deregistration is an illegal practice, running airlines into all kinds of trouble. While the forced nationalization of planes will buy Russia some time to protect its aviation industry, the lack of new planes means the future looks very hazy for the market.