Ultra-low-cost Russian airline Pobeda will reduce its fleet from 41 Boeing 737-800 to just 25, Russian website RBC reports, citing a letter sent by the airline’s CEO Andrei Yurikov towards his employees. The letter describes that – in order to guarantee flight safety – the 16 grounded aircraft will be used for spare parts but confirmed that they will remain airworthy.
A nightmare for aircraft leasing companies: in which shape will these companies see their high valued aircraft back ? Yurikov called the decision though but strictly calibrated: “we have returned to the beginning of 2019, when Pobeda operated 25 aircraft with a much smaller network and far less employees.”
The 16 aircraft will remain grounded until the end of 2022, as Yurikov hopes that the supply lane (spare parts, maintenance, …) will be restored by then. At the same time, Pobeda assures that the airline is “fully operational” in terms of maintenance.
In late February, against the background of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, the European Union imposed sanctions on the Russian aviation industry. The EU banned new deliveries of spare parts to airlines, as well as maintenance, support and insurance of Russian aircraft. In particular, due to sanctions, advanced contracts for the supply of components for Superjet 100 aircraft were frozen. Russian minister of Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov, said that this decision would be challenged in court.
