About 200 aircraft have been added to the total number of flights abroad in the fleet of Russian airlines after “debermudization”, i.e., the withdrawal of flying foreign cars from the register of Bermuda. It was the word “debermudization” that characterized this process in its investigation by Kommersant. Experts expect that this may lead to lower prices for air tickets for flights abroad.
In total, 201 foreign aircraft have been debermuidized, including more than 150 Boeing and Airbus. Also, 150 Superjets can fly abroad. As a result, this is about half of the fleet of carriers, which can return to transportation abroad, since the problem of double registration has been eliminated for these aircraft. It is the country of registration, according to Annex 83-bis to the Chicago Convention, that is responsible for maintaining airworthiness and certifying changes in the design of ships, and registration in more than one country is prohibited.
According to Kommersant, at the time of the introduction of air sanctions, there were 721 aircraft operated by Russian airlines in the Bermuda registry, at the moment their number is 520. At the same time, according to the Federal Air Transport Agency, as of February 24, 745 aircraft were registered in the Bermuda registry with Russian airlines. Another 36 are in the register of Ireland, they were exploited by ALROSA, iFly and Rossiya – and there is no “de-Irishization” yet.
Kommersant also notes that the “debermudised” aircraft belonged to Russian lessors or were bought out by Russian carriers, since the removal of an aircraft from the register is possible only at the request of the owner. At the same time, almost a third of them are operated by the Aeroflot group: at least 105 airliners, of which 56 belong to Aeroflot itself, Rossiya will receive 20 aircraft of “debermudised” liners and 19 will go to Pobeda.
< p>The “tour operator” Azur Air, which actively launches charters abroad, left only 8 of the 22 aircraft in the fleet in the Bermuda registry, of the remaining 10 were “debermudized”, and 4 more were registered in Russia before 2022. S7 was able to remove six of its Boeings from the Bermuda registry, Red Wings – three Boeings, etc.
Thus, taking into account the 150 SSJs in operation, the fleet of aircraft capable of flying from Russia to abroad is 300 aircraft . According to various expert estimates, in 2019-2021, on average, from 300 to 500 aircraft of Russian airlines regularly flew abroad. As a result, according to some aviation experts interviewed by Kommersant, one can expect price reductions on international airlines due to more power. Aeroflot also said that “debermudization” allowed to increase capacity, start flights to new destinations and increase the frequency “for both Aeroflot and competitors.” However, it is clearly not worth talking about an oversupply and a significant price reduction yet.
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