Air Transport

Aeroflot has ceased operations of the Tupolev Tu-134 twinjet, which was due to be replaced by its new fleet of Sukhoi Superjet 100s from later this year.

However the delay to the regional jet programme means that some Tu-134 routes will be operated temporarily by Tu-154Ms, while the airline will also use its Airbus narrowbodies to fill the void, says says Aeroflot general director Valery Okulov. The airline has also signed wet-lease agreements with its subsidiary carriers for Boeing 737-500s to bridge the gap to the SSJ deliveries.

In the meantime, the fleet of 14 68-seat Tu-134s has been put up for sale, says Okulov: "We have already sold some to our daughter companies Aeroflot-Don and Aeroflot-Nord, but the remainder are for sale."