It has become known that Aeroflot plans to abandon leasing dozens of domestic SJ-100 and Tu-214 aircraft in the coming years. There is a possibility that all 339 aircraft that the carrier planned to receive in Russia by 2030 will be from Irkutsk — and these will be MC-21s.
In an interview with the Russia 24 TV channel during SPIEF-2024, Aeroflot CEO Sergei Alexandrovsky said that Aeroflot is discussing with the United Aircraft Corporation (PJSC UAC, part of the Rostec State Corporation) a "transformation of the agreement" for the supply of new aircraft.
Given that the deadlines are shifting to the right, we carefully looked at the agreement with the manufacturer. The point is to transform all 339 aircraft into MC-21s.
At the same time, deliveries of the aircraft in the basic version (MC-21-300) and in the short version (MC-21-200), "which will be developed", are expected. Alexandrovsky did not name the number of aircraft to be purchased in each version.
There may be two reasons for abandoning the SJ-100 and Tu-214 in favor of the MC-21. The first, which was mentioned by the CEO of Aeroflot, is that in May 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers changed the plans for the development of the aviation industry until 2030. The delivery dates of the first flagship MC-21 competitor aircraft have shifted by more than a year, but the MC-21 itself will be produced in 9 units as early as 2025.
It is known that before this event, Aeroflot was supposed to receive six MC-21s in 2024. However, Alexandrovsky now said that after the postponement of MC-21 deliveries, the new deadline for receiving the first new aircraft is set for the fourth quarter of 2025.
The second reason, according to experts, is that it will be more convenient for the airline to operate and maintain a single-type air fleet, where there will be the most popular size aircraft.
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