Russia’s Royal Flight expands with a sixth Boeing 757

The leased narrowbody will perform its first revenue flight for the carrier from Tomsk in Russia to Pattaya in Thailand (Royal Flight)

Royal Flight has taken delivery of a Boeing 757 narrowbody, bringing the total number of such airliners in its fleet up to six, the Russian carrier’s spokesperson told Russian Aviation Insider.

The aircraft, registration code VP-BLB, delivered on operating lease terms, seats 235 passengers. On March 24 the 757 was ferried to Tomsk, from where it will complete its first revenue flight with the new operator to U-Tapao airport in Pattaya, Thailand.

This new addition brings Royal Flight’s overall fleet to nine aircraft. Apart from the six 757s, the carrier operates one Boeing 737-800 narrowbody and two Boeing 767 widebodies. The airline has plans to further expand its fleet, but prefers not to announce any details just yet.

Royal Flight occupies 14th place among Russian carriers by passenger traffic, which grew 14.6% in 2016 to 994,200 passengers. Traffic data for the first two months of this year indicate a further increase of almost 250% year-on-year, reaching 153,600 passengers. The airline operates mainly to the UAE, India, Austria, Spain, Greece, Thailand, Vietnam, Morocco, and Tunisia.