The Aeroflot Group is rearranging itself: By 2028, Russia’s largest airline not only wants to carry more passengers, but also redistribute the group’s priorities. The proportion of Russian aircraft is expected to increase sharply, but not for the parent company Aeroflot.
Aeroflot CEO Vitali Savelyev has big plans: in 2028, no fewer than 130 million passengers are to fly with the airlines of the largest Russian airline group. That is another 30 million more than the target of 100 million passengers a year for 2023. “It is an ambitious target, but I believe we can achieve it and put the Aeroflot group among the top ten largest global aviation groups,” said Savelyev mid-week during a meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Moscow, during which he also explained how the group should achieve this goal.
“The strategy until 2028 is called 30/30, as it will increase passenger traffic by 30 million and lower average airfares for economy-class passengers in Russia by 30 percent”, Saveljew continued. At the same time, the fleet of aircraft belonging to the Aeroflot Group is expected to increase from the current 351 to around 600 aircraft. More than a third of them, namely 235 machines, are said to be Russian-type aircraft, presumably Sukhoi Superjets and Irkut MC-21’s.
If Aeroflot implements the 30/30 strategy, not a single one of these Russian planes will fly with the parent airline in 2028. Aeroflot wants to distinguish itself as a luxury brand with “Five Star” status and, in the future, primarily offer long-haul destinations and premium routes. Overall, the core brand’s fleet should shrink to 170 aircraft, while the subsidiaries Rossiya and Pobeda are massively upgrading. As a dedicated low-cost airline, Pobeda inherits all Boeing 737-800s from Aeroflot, and with them also the associated flight routes. Pobeda’s fleet is also expected to level off at around 170 machines.
Rossiya is said to become the main operator of the Russian built aircraft. About 235 of the up to 250 Rossiya aircraft are said to come from Russian production in 2028. For this purpose, Rossiya will take over all Aeroflot superjets, including the outstanding deliveries. The same applies to the orders placed by Aeroflot for the MS-21, which is currently still being tested.