Aeroflot wins $199 million return from Airbus for four A350 aircraft – Kommersant

Aeroflot CEO Sergei Aleksandrovsky said that the airline had secured a $199 million advance payment from the European automaker Airbus for four A350s ordered in 2007. According to him, the advance was returned back in December 2022.

“Last year we carried out such work – quite intense and interesting – with Airbus. As a result, we managed to agree on all the conditions, and in December 2022 we received a refund from Airbus in the amount of $199 million for four A350s. Oddly enough, despite the sanctions restrictions, we were able to agree,” said Mr. Aleksandrovsky at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (quoted from “Interfax”).

The journalists asked how much of the advances transferred to Western companies “hung” in connection with the imposition of sanctions. Sergey Alexandrovsky did not name specific data, however, he said that the amount of prepayment, deductions of technical reserves and other payments is “significant”. “We are also doing this, but everything is not so positive there – I don’t know how our negotiations will end,” he said.

The deal concluded with Airbus in 2007 involved the delivery of 22 A350-900 aircraft. There are currently seven such aircraft in Aeroflot’s fleet. As of December 2022, Aeroflot Group has a total of 357 aircraft, including 13 foreign-made aircraft that are “blocked outside Russia.”

Lusine Balasyan