Russia’s S7 Group adds three more aircraft to its fleet

With the latest deliveries factored in, S7 Group’s fleet now totals 87 commercial airliners (Alec Wilson / Wikimedia)

S7, Russia’s second biggest airline group, which runs the two passenger carriers S7 Airlines and Globus Airlines, has added a factory-new Airbus A320 neo and two second hand Boeing 737-800s to its narrow-body fleet.

The two Boeings – with tail numbers VP-BLD and VP-BLE, each nine years old and previously operated by Norwegian and Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air accordingly – both have been leased from AerСap. They entered commercial service with the Russian airline on April 24, and since then have operated more than 100 flights, primarily on domestic routes.

The Airbus A320neo, with tail number VQ-BDQ, is one of the 25 new-engine option (neo) European-made narrow-bodies that the Russian airline has on order. Its delivery has been delayed due to problems with the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-geared turbofan engines. The most recent contract for six A320neos was signed with the SMBC Aviation Capital leasing company. The airline group has announced its intention to increase its fleet of the re-engined Airbus family aircraft to some 30 airframes.

With the new deliveries included, S7 Group’s fleet consists of 87 commercial airliners, including 19 A319s, 18 A320ceos, five A320neos, seven A321s, 21 Boeing 737-800s and 17 Embraer E170s.

The Boeings are registered with Globus Airlines’ Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC), which also lists a Gulfstream G550.

Last mont S7 Group has signed a letter of intent with Sukhoi Civil Aircraft for a potential 75 aircraft order of the  75-seat Sukhoi Superjet 75.

Both airlines collectively carried 1.141 million passengers in April of this year, up 10.4 per cent on the same month of 2017. The growth rate is climbing above last year when it averaged 8.4 per cent and the total traffic served by the group in 2017 reached 14.253 million passengers.