Russian low-cost carrier Smartavia signs for 45 MC-21s

Russian carrier Smartavia has reached a preliminary agreement to take 45 Yakovlev MC-21 twinjets for fleet modernisation. The Arkhangelsk-based airline was formerly owned by Aeroflot before it was sold and rebranded as Nordavia, and subsequently evolved as a budget carrier under the Smartavia name. It operates Boeing 737s and Airbus A320neos. Smartavia and Yakovlev unveiled the fleet-renewal agreement during the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. “Replenishment of the airline’s fleet with new aircraft of this type will allow us to successfully implement a business strategy based on a smart approach to all elements of the company operating in the air transportation sector,” says Smartavia chief Sergei Lazarev. Under the agreement – which aerospace firm United Aircraft describes as a “confirming intention” – the airline will take delivery of the 45 aircraft, under financial leases, to 2035. No initial delivery date has been disclosed.<br/>