Countering, or at least coping with western sanctions, President Vladimir Putin signed
a law that allows the country's airlines to place airplanes leased from foreign companies
on the country's aircraft register. The move generated concerns that it would be extremely
difficult for lessors to regain their planes, and of a historic mass default on hundreds of jets.
When the deadline to end the leases expired on March 28, over 400 jets were still out of reach.
To date, over 75 aircraft have been repossessed- with one notable seizure involving a Boeing 747-8!
Russian airlines have 515 aircraft leased from abroad. Re-registering them in Russia
allows them to keep flying for the country's airlines with domestic safety approvals,
as lessors from Ireland and Bermuda suspended aircraft airworthiness certificates.
Rossiya Russian Airlines has 125 aircraft in its fleet-
and all but one Tupolev Tu-204 are leased. On Wednesday, March 30th,
sources confirmed to Russian news agency TASS that all 125 were now under Russian registration.
The airline's fleet consists of Sukhoi Superjet SJ-100s, Boeing 737s,
777s, and 747s, as well as the Airbus A320 family. According to data from ch-aviation, 93 of the
jets are leased from Russian lessors such as VTB Leasing, VEB-Leasing, and parent company Aeroflot.
The remainder of the jets come from various lessors with GECAS being the most prominent,
having leased seven Airbus narrowbodies to the airline. Aercap, in second place, has provided
five. A spokesperson for Rossiya told TASS, "Rossiya Russian Airlines aircraft have
all the necessary onboard documentation approved by the authorized body in the field of civil
aviation of the Russian Federation. Rossiya airliners comply with airworthiness standards
and undergo regular maintenance in a timely manner. Only qualified and certified
personnel are involved in technical work." The airline will only operate Russian-leased
aircraft on international routes, to prevent the planes from being seized while out of the country.
By last week, lessors had repossessed at least 78 jets from Russian airlines while the aircraft were
on foreign soil. Meanwhile, on March 30th, Reuters reported how Singapore-based BOC
Aviation had managed to reclaim a Boeing 747-8 from Russian airfreight operator AirBridgeCargo.
The jet flew from Hong Kong to California on March 25th.
AirBridgeCargo operates an all-Boeing widebody fleet - four 747-400 ERFs,
12 747-8Fs, and one 777-200F. Apart from two 747-8s that come through Volga-Dnepr,
all are leased from foreign lessors, including GECAS, Aircastle, and SB Leasing Ireland.
Russian airlines have faced quite the dilemma: Reregister their aircraft in Russia, or ground
major parts of their fleets due to a lack of safety certification. Meanwhile, according to
international law, it is forbidden for an aircraft to be registered in two countries at the same time
and without the explicit agreement of the owner. This means that if foreign lessors do not agree to
un-register the jets, registering them in Russia will constitute a breach of leasing contracts.
We are likely to see a battle between lessors and airlines that will go on long after the
war on the ground in Ukraine has ended. Are you surprised at how many aircraft
have already been repossessed? Let us know by leaving a comment.