Russian Carrier Gearing Up For Olympics, FIFA World Cup

The Russian national airline Aeroflot said Wednesday that it had place an order for six Boeing 777-300ERs (extended range) and two Boeing 777-200ERs. The order was previously attributed to an unidentified customer on Boeing's Orders and Deliveries website.

"These Boeing 777 airplanes will strengthen our network strategy, particularly the international growth opportunities we expect from our joint businesses with SkyTeam partners when servicing the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games and the 2018 FIFA World Cup," said Vitaly Saveliev, general director of Aeroflot Russian Airlines. "We value the combination of size, range and performance of the 777 airplanes, as well as the extensive customer amenities they offer. The seating capability of the aircraft will give us growth flexibility in slot-constrained airports and provide us with greater ability to serve new long-haul markets."

"Aeroflot is one of the world's most innovative and fastest growing airlines," said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The 777 has the payload-range capability, economic efficiency and passenger comfort to support Aeroflot in achieving its ambitious goals for growth, profitability and world-class service. We thank Aeroflot for this important order."

Russia is an important supplier for the Boeing 777 family. VSMPO, subsidiary of Rostechnologii State Corporation, manufactures large titanium forgings for landing gears, wings and pylon of the 777 jetliner. Russian engineers at the Moscow Boeing Design Center and IT experts from Russian software companies actively participated in designing the 777-300ER airplanes.

Aeroflot is a member of SkyTeam, the global airline alliance. To date, seven out of 12 SkyTeam members have ordered a total of 141 777s. Aeroflot's overall flight network comprises 898 locations in 169 countries. In 2010, 11.3 million passengers used Aeroflot's services and about 13 million used the services offered by the Aeroflot group.

FMI: www.boeing.com