MINSK, 9 February (BelTA) – The Belarusian air carrier Belavia plans to dramatically upgrade its fleet by the end of 2021, Belavia Director General Anatoly Gusarov told the media ahead of the wrap-up session of the Belarusian Transport and Communications Ministry on 9 February, BelTA has learned.
“We were working hard throughout 2017 to draft a fleet update program for 2018-2021 based on the airline business model for the same period. In line with the program, the air carrier will dramatically upgrade its fleet in 2018-2021 and will gradually decommission the leased Boeing 737-300 and Boeing 737-500 aircraft. Instead, we will purchase new Boeing and Embraer jets,” Anatoly Gusarov pointed out.
According to the executive, Belavia plans to start operating next-generation aircraft Embraer E2 and Boeing 737 in the future. The air carrier will start accepting the first Embraer jet at a Brazilian plant on 12 April. Plans call for purchasing a total of three new Embraer aircraft in H1 2018. The jets will be delivered in April, May, and June.
“Moreover, in late 2017 we signed an operating lease agreement with Nordic Aviation to get five Embraer aircraft. Three jets are to be delivered in 2019, the other two in 2020,” Anatoly Gusarov said.
“Belavia's specialists will soon finish selecting the most acceptable offer of a leasing company to supply four or five Boeing 737 Max jets in 2019-2020. Belavia will also continue the negotiations with Boeing to buy two jets in 2021. Therefore, the company will form a completely different fleet,” the director general added.
Today Belavia's fleet includes 26 aircraft (five Boeing 737-800 jets, six Boeing 737-500, seven Boeing 737-300, two Embraer-175, two Embraer-195, four jets CRJ-100/-200). In 2014, the company launched a large-scale investment fleet update project estimated at more than $200 million. To date, Belavia has purchase two Embraer-195 and three Boeing jets.
Belavia is Belarus' largest air carrier performing regular flights to 49 airports in 28 European and Asian countries.
