Aeroflot Group has transferred nearly 100 aircraft from foreign ownership, its chief executive has told Russian president Vladimir Putin during a briefing.
Sergei Alexandrovsky stated that the group’s three carriers – Aeroflot, Rossiya and Pobeda – respectively ended the year with 171, 136 and 41 aircraft.
Aeroflot Group has been engaged in efforts to settle insurance claims brought by leasing companies over aircraft retained by Russian operators after international sanctions were imposed in response to the Ukrainian conflict.
Several lessors have reached agreements under which a Russian insurance company, NSK, has transferred funds to them in return for taking ownership of aircraft.
Alexandrovsky told Putin that 98 aircraft had been transferred to Aeroflot Group by the end of 2023, as a result of the government’s support for the settlements and buy-back measures.
“This, of course, contributed to the increase in international passenger traffic,” he adds.
Aeroflot Group’s overall passenger numbers rose by 15% to 47 million during the year, Alexandrovsky says. This includes 25 million for Aeroflot, 9 million for Rossiya and 13 million for Pobeda. Domestic passengers accounted for about 80% of the total.
The company achieved a “historic maximum” load factor of 87.1%, Alexandrovsky adds, and Russian market share rose to just under 45%.
He points out that Aeroflot Group’s hub at Krasnoyarsk, which emerged in 2021, handled 700,000 passengers in 2023 and the company intends to reach 1.2 million this year. “We are more than doubling the fleet [there],” he adds.
