Russian Airline Chops Its Fleet By 40%, Hoping Supplies Last Through End Of Year

Hundreds of aircraft are going to be stolen by Russian airlines. The Russian government won't allow the planes to come back. The planes are being registered by Russia.

The airworthiness certificates of most of the planes have been suspended. Many of them are still flying. Russia isn't able to get parts for these planes on the legal market because of their Cape Town Treaty obligations.

The third largest carrier in Russia is the ultra low cost carrier Pobeda. The Russian government owns majority of the company.

There were 43 planes. At least one was taken away. Pobeda plans to reduce its fleet to 25 due to lack of parts. Presumably they will be able tonibalize the remaining aircraft. Through the end of the year, they hope this gets them.

The striking thing about this is that, for all of the speculation that Russian airlines could continue to operate indefinitely Iran-style, buying parts in secret, to the extent this is possible, it will certainly be at a lower level of flying than before sanctions. Pobeda only expects to maintain 40% of its fleet this year. It would need to be reduced even more next year.

Due to a lack of spare parts, Pobeda airlines is cutting its fleet from 41 down to 25, hoping supplies will last until the end of the year. pic.twitter.com/QgpyiHZUeO

— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) March 25, 2022

The Pobeda pilot announced to his flight that the government's invasion of Ukraine is a crime and must be stopped. He did this after his plane had landed. Hopefully he is okay.

Not all of the planes leased by Russian carriers have been stolen. UTAir, a private airline, has indicated that it will be withdrawing its 9 leased Boeing 737s from service because they no longer have a right to control under international law.

The use of parts obtained in circumvention of sanctions, and cannibalizing parts from other planes, is almost certain to lead to incomplete or inaccurate maintenance records which will leave the planes themselves virtually worthless even if sanctions on Russia are lifted soon. The maintenance records allow a plane to hold value.

The New York flight turned around midflight. It is difficult for Russian aircraft to get to the U.S. without flying over EU and Canadian airspace. They flew for 8 hours and ended up where they started. At the same time.

In airlines.

European sanctions mean that more than half of Russian airlines' planes are at risk of being taken over. They are illegal and void because they are leased. There aren't enough crews to take planes back within 30 days.

In general.

During the State of the Union address tonight, President Biden will announce that the U.S. is closing its airspace to Russian aircraft. This is not as significant to Russia as the closing of European airspace, but it does mean that Russian carriers will not be flying to the U.S.

In airlines.