Aeroflot’s MC-21 fleet plan grows to 108 aircraft after major new order

Russia’s flag carrier Aeroflot has signed an agreement with Rostec subsidiaries UAC, UEC, and the leasing company Aviacpital-Service to supply and service 90 MC-21 aircraft. The signing ceremony was held at Sheremetyevo Airport.

Aeroflot signs new deal for MC-21-300s

The deal provides for Aeroflot to receive these aircraft from 2029 to 2032, with the first 14 units delivered in 2029, followed by 18 in 2030, 24 in 2031, and 34 in 2032.

The contract covers the provision of flight simulators, flight crew training services, and services for 22 years. When the type initially enters service, it is expected to be assigned to short-haul routes like Moscow to St. Petersburg.

The Russian news outlet Interfax reported, “Manufacturing each aircraft takes between one and a half and two years. The contract with Aeroflot ensures a clear production workload for years to come and lays the foundation for the systematic ramp-up of serial production.”

This contract is in addition to an existing contract signed in 2023 to supply Aeroflot with 18 MC-21s. The delivery of the first eight is expected in the first quarter of 2027, with the remaining ten in 2028.

Aeroflot going all in on the MC-21

The MC-21-300 is a post-sanctions russified version of the MC-21, which had been expected to enter service soon before the sanctions of 2022 in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The narrowbody is designed to fill the role of the A320 and Boeing 737 and has a capacity for 163-211 passengers.

In 2024, it was reported that Aeroflot was cancelling its orders for 89 regional SJ100s and 40 Soviet-era Tu-214s. Instead, it signalled a plan to go all in on the MC-21, raising its expected orders from 270 to 339. The new contract brings its firm orders to 108 aircraft.

Russian President Putin attended the signing ceremony via a video link and said, “I expect its implementation to proceed in strict accordance with the planned schedule, without delays or disruptions.”

The Russian commercial aviation sector is under enormous strain, grappling with punishing sanctions, recertifying multiple types of aircraft, and competition from the military for limited resources.

Delays to Russian MC-21s & other passenger aircraft

While Russia’s 2022 plan to have over 1,000 domestic aircraft produced by 2030 has been delayed and scaled back, there has been some success in retrofitted versions of the aircraft (e.g., MC-21, Il-114, SJ100, Tu-214) with Russian engines and other systems.

Others, such as the LMS-901 Baikal and Il-96, appear to be mostly abandoned as future passenger aircraft. Russia now expects serial production for the russified MC-21 to start in 2027.

For now, it appears essentially all deliveries have been pushed back to 2027. Updated schedules for initial deliveries are Q4 2027 for the MC-21, spring 2027 for SJ-100, and late 2026 for Il-114-300.

Only one turboprop Il-114-300 is now expected to be delivered in 2026 (to the 2nd Arkhangelsk Aviation Detachment). The next two are expected in early 2027.

Around four Tu-214s have been mentioned in some earlier reporting, but these are for special/government customers, not for commercial airlines. It appears that the lone Il-114-300 turboprop will be the sole (and first) Russian passenger russified delivery since the sanctions of 2022.

The first russified SJ-100s had originally been scheduled for 2023, with the first MC-21, Tu-214, and Il-114 deliveries following in 2024.

Russia has revised down its total commercial aircraft target from 1,036 by 2030 to around 990, although industry experts consider only a percentage of that realistic.

AGN recently reported that the light passenger aircraft, the Baikal, may be poised to be cancelled in favour of an upgraded version of the 1947-era An-2 biplane.