Russian airline AEROFLOT recently won a contract to buy eight Airbus A330 aircraft. These planes are operating in Russia, and belong to foreign leasing companies.
According to Reuters, which initially published this information, Aeroflot's decision to buy the planes was to try to maintain a good relationship with the companies, which were not disclosed.
According to Aeroflot, the purchase uses a loophole in the sanctions implemented by western countries, which allows the purchase of the plane after the end of the financial leasing.
There are currently around 26 Airbus A330-300 aircraft in operation in Russia, 12 of which are owned by Aeroflot. Probably the A330s will be used at the same time as the decommissioning of some A350s, which will be used to supply maintenance parts, the famous “cannibalization”.
This does not negate the fact that there are currently more than 400 aircraft leased from Western companies stuck in Russia. The cumulative damage is worth nearly $10 billion, and leasing companies already say they will amortize in the next contracts.
