After two and a half years of storage, two Airbus A321 aircraft of Red Wings Airlines are undergoing the procedure of airworthiness restoration/ The carrier intends to return them to flights of its foreign route network by the end of this summer. This is reported on the FrequentFlyers.ru website.
We are talking about aircraft with registration numbers VP-BVT and VP-BVW, which were in storage in Domodedovo and Zhukovsky. The process of settling the ownership rights with foreign lessors Castlelake and DAE Aviation Capital is underway. As of 31 May, the aircraft were still listed in the Bermuda registry, but spotters recorded the VP-BVT with the Russian registration number RA-73336.
The aircraft were built in 2003-2004 with monoclass cabins with 220 seats, which is optimal for tourist transportations to resorts in Turkey, Egypt and other countries. Red Wings stopped operating Airbus aircraft in March 2022. The company planned to gradually abandon foreign-made medium-haul aircraft and switch to Russian-made aircraft. The strategy envisaged an increase in the number of SSJ100 aircraft from 15 to 60 units and a contract for 16 MC-21s with a single-class layout with 211 seats.
However, with the postponement of the start of operations of the SJ-100 and MS-21-310 and the emerging problems with the restoration of the Tu-204, Red Wings is forced to put Airbus aircraft back into service, given the availability of spare parts and trained crews for this type of aircraft.
Regarding the supply of spare parts for A&B aircraft, at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2024), it was announced that the Protector Group of Companies will invest around RUB 3.5bn in the construction of a plant for the production of spare parts. The plant will be located next to Domodedovo Airport and is expected to be operational by 2026.
In addition, S7 Airlines announced at SPIEF-2024 its intention to invest more than RUB 2.5bn in the production of spare parts for foreign aircraft. The S7 Technics division is certified by the European Civil Aviation Agency (EASA) and has experience in the production of components for Western aircraft.
