Russia's Transaero buys four Boeing Dreamliners

MOSCOW - Russia's number two carrier Transaero said Tuesday it had agreed to purchase four 787 Dreamliners from Boeing to update a fleet that will soon also include four rival Airbus A380 jets.

The private carrier disclosed no price or delivery date for the jets, which will replace currently operated Boeing 767 aircraft.


"Boeing 787s will perform flights on both Transaero's domestic and international routes," the airline's chief executive Olga Pleshakova said.

Transaero said it has already made an advance payment to Boeing, which has been the carrier's partner since 1993.

The announcement came just two months after the carrier, which has a fleet of 77 jets dominated by Boeing, become the first airline in the ex-Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to order the new double-decker jumbo developed by Airbus.

Coming on top of an earlier preliminary deal for eight smaller A320neo planes, Transaero's purchase suggested that the Russian carrier was ready to switch allegiance from the US giant.

The company currently has 13 Boeing 767s in its fleet.


by Siavosh Ghazi
(c) 2011 AFP