Russian state carrier Aeroflot (AFLT) has taken the last operational Airbus A330 from charter airline iFly under a lease agreement, Kommersant reported on February 25, as Russia’s wide-body fleet continues to contract under spare parts shortages driven by Western sanctions.
The 24-year-old aircraft is operating flights from Moscow to Vladivostok and Khabarovsk, replacing a similar jet withdrawn for engine repairs at the end of 2025. Kommersant estimates fewer than 60 wide-body aircraft remain operational in Russia, with more than one-third of the country’s 93 foreign-built wide-body passenger jets currently grounded due to parts shortages.
Aeroflot confirmed the lease agreement with iFly has been expanded to four aircraft. Following maintenance, the fourth aircraft will also be deployed across the airline’s route network.
Of Aeroflot’s 41 wide-body aircraft and the 18 operated by subsidiary Rossiya, 17 of the 59 long-haul jets are undergoing maintenance, while 48 are described as active. At the end of the first half of 2025, Aeroflot Group, which includes Rossiya and Pobeda, operated 352 aircraft, with plans to expand to 460 by 2030, primarily through domestic models.
Industry sources told Kommersant that engines for wide-body jets are scarce and more costly than those for narrow-body aircraft, and attempts to repair engines in Iran have reportedly failed to meet expectations. According to Flightradar data cited by the newspaper, AzurAir operates six Boeing 767 aircraft, while several jets at Severny Veter and affiliated carrier Ikar have been grounded for over a year.
Russia’s Ministry of Transport projected in 2022 that the country’s foreign wide-body fleet could fall to 52 aircraft by 2030. Boeing data show wide-body aircraft accounted for 16% of the global fleet at the end of 2024, against 66% for narrow-body jets.
Aeroflot has signed a firm contract for 18 domestic MC-21 medium-haul aircraft and is negotiating deliveries of up to 90 units, though Russia remains well behind its own targets for replacing foreign jets with domestically built passenger aircraft.