Aeroflot takes first A321neo, secures $320mn loan

Aeroflot (SU, Moscow Sheremetyevo) took delivery of its first A321-200NX on May 26, 2021, and inducted it into service on May 31 on a flight to the carrier’s first non-Moscow base at Krasnoyarsk Yemelyanovo. VP-BRC (msn 10314) is the first of two A321neo Aeroflot is leasing from SMBC Aviation Capital. The second, VP-BPP (msn 10193), was delivered on May 28. The carrier’s agreement with the lessor also includes three A320-200Ns, which will also deliver shortly. While the newly arrived A321neo is Aeroflot’s first, the carrier has already added one A320neo on lease from CDB Aviation, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows. The Russian carrier’s first commercial A321neo flight was from Moscow Sheremetyevo to Krasnoyarsk on May 31, the same day the airline’s executives officially inaugurated its base in Krasnoyarsk. As the first base outside of Moscow, the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk is a crucial step in Aeroflot’s strategy of decentralising services and improving intra-regional domestic connectivity. The strategy has been promoted at the highest echelons of power, including by President Vladimir Putin. Aeroflot will initially base a single B737-800 out of Krasnoyarsk. Starting on June 1, 2021, the airline will connect the city with Krasnodar, Blagoveshchensk, Adler/Sochi, Irkutsk Int’l, and Simferopol (in Russian-occupied Crimea). Aeroflot said it would add more destinations to its Krasnoyarsk network in the future. Following the opening of the Krasnoyarsk base, Aeroflot will become the largest carrier at the airport with a 31.6% market share by weekly scheduled capacity, the ch-aviation capacities module shows. The airport is also a base for NordStar (the second-largest scheduled carrier at the airport with a 15% market share), KrasAvia, leisure specialists Azur Air and Pegas Fly, as well as regional carriers AeroGeo and Turuhan Airlines. Separately, Aeroflot Group announced in a stock market filing that it signed a loan agreement with Sovcombank for USD320 million. The loan is the group’s first sustainability-linked credit facility with costs linked to Aeroflot’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance score.