Aeroflot Group Eyes Atran Boeing 737 Freighters For Teardown

As Russian airlines continue to look for new ways to source spares as they operate under Western sanctions, Aeroflot Group is looking to buy a small fleet of freighters for teardown.

The country’s largest airline group is in talks to take five Boeing 737-800BCF freighters from local cargo carrier Atran Airlines, Moscow daily Kommersant reported Dec. 6. Aeroflot plans to indirectly purchase the aircraft from their owner—lessor AerCap—via an insurance settlement. This method allows foreign lessors to reimburse the aircraft's value via payment from the Russian government’s own insurance company, which will later lease the aircraft back to local operators.

Aeroflot will tear down the freighters to provide spare parts for its low-cost subsidiary, Pobeda, according to the report. Pobeda operates 42 737-800s while the group’s flagship carrier Aeroflot Airlines flies 37 of the type, according to the Russian aircraft registry. Rossiya, another subsidiary, operates 11.

Atran has six 737-800BCFs and three 737-400s in its fleet, all of which have been grounded since March 2022 when the Bermuda Aviation Authorities revoked their airworthiness certificates following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The cargo carrier then withdrew the 737s from its air operator certificate before resuming operations in the fall of 2023 with a pair of Soviet-era Antonov An-12 turboprop transports.

Atran’s parent, Volga-Dnepr Group, declined to comment on a deal with Aeroflot.