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Transaero to Add Airbuses to Boeings
Russia’s Transaero has chosen A330 jets of European Airbus as its new long-haul plane. The deal is to be struck in Paris today to supply Transearo with eight jets between 2008 and 2011. The deal is estimated at $1.2 billion. Transaero’s fleet has so far consisted only of Boeings. However, financial terms of the American company which was offering the Russians its Boeing 777 proved worse.
Talks with Airbus started six months ago, a source of Kommersant said. The final round of talks is to be held today. The parties are to sign a purchase agreement on eight new A330-200 long-haul jets and middle-range A320 planes. Transaero is to make an early payment this month. The aircrafts are to be expected to come to Russia between 2008 and 2011. The total cost of the jets is some $1.5 billion, but the Russian client received a good discount. Some sources say it was 40 percent. Transaero is to use bank loans to finance the purchase.
Up to this moment, Tranaero’s fleet has consisted of Boeings exclusively. However, Olga and Alexander Pleshakov, the company’s director general and chair of the board) were not consider the Boeing 787 as the new long-haul jet due to its high price. The airline’s management has eventually chosen the A330, not Boeing 777 as Airbus was offering more lucrative financial terms. In addition, the A330 was recognized the most suitable aircraft for long-haul routes of Transaero.
Market watchers give different view on the choice of Transaero. Sergey Koltovich of Aeroflot says: “The A330 is a very good aircraft, especially if you want to use it instead of the 20-year-old Boeing 767. But they should have bought the A330 two or four years ago. It’s time to eye Boeing 787.” In contrast, Boris Rybak, director general of the Infomost consulting firm, believes that regardless of the type of the jets, new aircrafts will make Transaero more competitive, especially on the St. Petersburg market that the airline is developing.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 22, 2006
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