Russia’s S7 Airlines Orders 100 Tu-214 Airliners

S7 Airlines has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) to acquire 100 Tu-214 airliners, according to local media reports. The agreement was finalized on September 18, 2024, in Kazan, Tatarstan, where UAC manufactures the aircraft. The signing involved UAC Managing Director Yuri Slyusar and S7 Group owner Vladislav Filev.

The Tu-214, a modernized version of the Soviet-era Tu-204, has seen limited commercial success. Production of the Tu-214 resumed following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which left the country without access to Western-made aircraft due to sanctions. The Tu-214 had been built in various versions from the 1990s until 2016 for both civilian and military applications.

First introduced in 1989, the Tupolev Tu-204 was intended to be broadly equivalent to the Boeing 757, with slightly lower range and payload, and had competitive performance and fuel efficiency in its class.

In early 2024, Red Wings, the largest operator of the Tu-214, reintroduced the aircraft after a six-year break, during which it had aimed to transition to an Airbus A220 fleet. As of September 2024, the only non-Russian airlines operating Tu-204/214 models on passenger flights are North Korea’s Air Koryo and Cuba’s Cubana de Aviación.

Earlier this year, UAC announced plans to ramp up production to 10 Tu-214 aircraft annually by 2025/26, with an eventual target of 20 aircraft per year after 2027.

Related news: https://airguide.info/?s=S7+Airlines

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, S7 Airlines, Tupolev