Russia has asked Vietnam for passenger planes along with crews, maintenance and insurance. The proposal is for the so-called "wet lease" and is being considered by the Vietnamese side, but no agreement has been confirmed so far.
Russian Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin said that Moscow has sent proposals to Vietnamese airlines. "We have sent the relevant proposals to our colleagues, and the Vietnamese side is considering them," Nikitin said, quoted by Euronews.
The reason for the request is the deteriorating condition of the Russian civil air fleet. Of the 673 aircraft operated by the 11 largest Russian airlines, 130 are out of service. This is almost a fifth of the fleet, with a usual share of about 10%.
The situation outside the “Aeroflot“ group is even more serious. Of the 322 aircraft of the other major carriers, 93 are grounded, or almost a third.
Airbus and Boeing aircraft may bring sanctions risk
The Vietnamese proposal is associated with an additional problem. The country's main airline uses only Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Therefore, the possible provision of machines to Russian carriers would involve Western aircraft and could expose Vietnamese companies to secondary sanctions.
A similar risk has already led to Ethiopia's refusal to accept a similar proposal. Other attempts by Moscow to find partners in Asia, Africa and the Middle East have also failed to produce contracts.
Russia is facing a shortage of aircraft and spare parts following sanctions imposed after the start of a full-scale war in Ukraine. In 2022, Russian airlines detained hundreds of aircraft leased from Western lessors rather than returning them to their owners.
Legal disputes and dismantling for spare parts
More than 400 Western aircraft have been re-registered in the Russian national registry. However, international aviation law prohibits the same aircraft from having dual registration, which raises questions about the legality of these actions.
Lesors have filed insurance claims for about $8 billion, some of which are still pending. Before the war, approximately 850 of the 900 Russian commercial aircraft were manufactured by Airbus or Boeing, and about 85% of them were leased from foreign companies.
Due to a shortage of components, Russian airlines began to dismantle some of the detained aircraft for spare parts. However, according to international standards, each component must have a certified and traceable maintenance history.
Bogdan Dolintse described the practice as “aviation cannibalism“ and said it had limited effect on actual repairs. Aircraft parts cut from Western certified maintenance chains cannot legally be used on international flights. The certificates issued by the Russian aviation regulator “Rosaviatsia“ are not recognized by the aviation authorities of the European Union and the United States.
Limitations also on aviation fuel
The problems for Russian airlines also include fuel supply. According to Russian media reports, restrictions have been introduced at at least 26 major airports. At airports in St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Ufa, Irkutsk and Vladivostok, refueling is limited to the amount needed for one flight.
The most serious restrictions are in southern Russia, including Sochi, Volgograd and Astrakhan. They have been linked to a decline in fuel production after Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and the subsequent restriction on aviation fuel exports.
Russia continues to rely on foreign components for its own passenger aircraft. About half of the parts for the Superjet are produced outside the country, and serial production of the Il-114 and MC-21 has not yet begun.
Sources: news.bg, tr.euronews.com, interfax.com