Russian airlines bet on domestic recovery with airshow deals

Russia's airlines struck deals for more than 80 regional jets at its flagship airshow this week, according to state-backed aerospace and leasing companies, as carriers bet on a partial market recovery driven by domestic flights. Russia, like other countries, has heavily restricted international air traffic due to the coronavirus since last year, but domestic flight routes are already recovering. State-owned companies backed by state leasing companies dominated the ranks of buyers and sellers at the MAKS-2021 biennial airshow that opened on Tuesday near Moscow. Five airlines, three of them state-owned, signed agreements to order 58 Sukhoi Superjet 100s and 22 new Ilyushin Il-114 regional jets, according to state-backed aerospace group United Aircraft Corporation and state-owned leasing company GTLK. The domestically-made Superjet is a regional aircraft that entered service in 2011. State-run Red Wings signed an agreement for the delivery of 25 Superjet planes; private airline Azimuth and Aurora, which the government wants to turn into a far east regional carrier, signed agreements for the delivery of 10 and eight of the planes, respectively, UAC said. Aeroflot's Rossiya subsidiary ordered 15 Superjets. The deals point to the rising role of the aircraft on regional Russian routes. The aircraft is only used by Russian airlines and has struggled to find foreign buyers.<br/>