Almost $4 bln earmarked for purchase of Russian airliners’ aircraft abroad
Accoridng to Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev, Aeroflot has already used the funds to purchase ten long-range aircraft
MOSCOW, March 15. /TASS/. Russian airlines continue purchasing aircraft from foreign leasing firms, with the government having allocated more than 300 bln rubles ($3.97 bln) for these purposes, Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev said at a meeting of the State Duma (lower house) Committee on Transport and Development of Transport Infrastructure on Wednesday.
"We are trying to purchase aircraft from foreign leasing companies, we understand the issue well. The government has already allocated around 300 bln rubles. Aeroflot has already used [the funds] to purchase ten long-range aircraft," he said.
Russia’s flagship air carrier said at the end of last year that it had purchased ten Boeing 777-300ER jets that had been on lease from an Irish company since 2013 and 2014. Last May, Aeroflot purchased eight wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft from foreign leasing firms. That said, Savelyev stated earlier that continuous efforts were underway to purchase aircraft from foreign leasing companies, adding that the amount of subsidies requested was planned to be reduced proportionally to the number of jets acquired.