5 Notable Airlines That Have Ordered The Russian Yakovlev MC-21 Narrowbody

Summary

  • Aeroflot aims to have 210 MC-21s by 2030, transitioning from foreign to domestic aircraft.
  • Rossiya Airlines plans to purchase 12+ MC-21s and 32 Superjets to replace Western aircraft parts.
  • Izhavia recently ordered 8 MC-21s, despite new defects, to expand its minimal fleet size.

What are some of the notable airlines ordering Russia’s domestic MC-21? While Aeroflot is by far the aircraft’s main customer, other airlines are also placing orders. For the Russian aviation industry, 2021 was yesteryear – it was a bygone time and a different world. The Superjet was in production, and there were high hopes for the MC-21 Boeing-737 challenger about to go into production. But now over two years after the crippling sanctions on Russia’s aviation, the Russified MC-21 is projected to be over 6 tons heavier with reduced range and efficiency and is still not in production.

Aeroflot

Aeroflot plans to have the largest fleet of MC-21s as well as large amounts of Superjets and Tu-214.

MC-21s planned:

210

Current fleet makeup:

Airbus A320, A330, A350, Boeing 737, 777

Current fleet size:

349

Aeroflot is Russia’s largest airline and flag carrier and is over 73% owned by the Russian government. Currently, it operates a fleet made up exclusively of foreign airliners, including Airbus (A320, A330, A350) and Boeing (737, 777). However, it has ambitious plans to purchase 339 Russian-made jets, including the MC-21.

Irkut MC-21-300/MS-21 test aircraft in the sky

Photo: Fasttailwind | Shutterstock

Aeroflot plans to make the MC-21 its flagship aircraft. According to Aeroflot’s website, the carrier plans to purchase an impressive 210 MC-21s, 89 Superjet-100s, and 40 Tu-214 aircraft by 2030. Time will tell if this is possible as production of these aircraft remains frozen as Russia scrambles to replace foreign parts (like engines) with domestic parts. At the same time, Russia is running a war-time economy (that is likely sucking away resources from the civilian sector).

Related

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Rossiya Airlines

Rossiya Airlines is ordering MC-21s as well as more Superjets.

MC-21s planned:

12+

Current fleet makeup:

Airbus A319, A320, Boeing 737, 777, 747, Superjet

Current fleet size:

137

Rossiya Airlines is one of Russia’s oldest and largest airlines (founded in 1934) and is part of the Aeroflot Group. It is based at Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg and is also purchasing MC-21s. According to the Rossiya Airlines website, it has 137 passenger jets in service. In September 2023, it was reported that Rossiya Airlines was purchasing 12 MC-21-310 airliners along with 32 Superjets.

Rossiya Airlines Sukhoi Superjet 100-95

Photo: Alexey Peretslavtsev | Rossiya Airlines

It is unclear if this was an additional order or the total order for the MC-21. Russian airlines are facing a crunch. While they are maintaining and reverse-engineering parts to keep their fleets of Western aircraft flying, this can only go on for so long. Russian airlines will need hundreds of new aircraft by the end of 2030, and for now, they are cut off from international markets.

Izhavia

Izhavia has become one of the latest airlines to order the MC-21.

MC-21s planned:

8

Current fleet makeup:

Boeing 737

Current fleet size:

2 (may also include a limited number of Yakovlev Yak-42s)

Izhavia is a very small Russian airline based in Izhevsk in the Udmurtia Republic of Russia (in the Ural region). It is the national airline of the Udmurt Republic of Russia (the Russian Federation has a number of small republics that sometimes almost function as countries within a country).

Izhavia Boeing 737-800

According to ch-aviation, Izhavia has placed an order for eight MC-21-310s. This is significant as the order was placed (May 2024) after the MC-21’s new defects were known, and it will dramatically increase the size of the tiny airline. According to Planespotters.net, Izhavia only operates a fleet of two Boeing 737s.

Related

How Are Sanctions Hamstringing The Production Of Russia’s Domestic Airliners?

Domestic Russian commercial jets are being delayed as they are re-designed with Russian-built parts.

Aurora

Aurora signed a letter of intent for 10 MC-21s back in September 2023 to be delivered by the end of the decade.

MC-21s planned:

10

Current fleet makeup:

Airbus A319s, Bombardier DHC-8s, Viking DHC-6s

Current fleet size:

18

Aurora is another small Russian airline that has signed a letter of intent for the supply of 10 MC-21 to be delivered between 2027 and 2030. It is located in the far-flung Sakhalin Oblast in Russia’s Far East region. Aurora is named after a historic Russian cruiser (now a museum ship and a survivor of the 1905 Battle of Tsushima, when the Japanese annihilated the Imperial Russian fleet).

Aurora aircraft

Photo: Starz12 | Shutterstock

At the signing, Aurora expressed confidence in the future of the MC-21 and stated the airline’s need to grow the fleet to connect with the largest cities of Russia’s Far East and then on to the largest airports of Siberia. Aurora operates a fleet of 8 Airbus A319s, 8 Bombardier DHC-8s, and 2 small Viking DHC 6–400 Twin Otters.

Azerbaijan Airlines

Azerbaijan Airlines was one of the few foreign airlines reported to have ordered the MC-21.

MC-21s planned:

10

Current fleet makeup:

Airbus A319, A320, A320neo, Boeing 787, 767, 757

Current fleet size:

29

Azerbaijan Airlines earns a skeptical mention here as it is curiously the only international MC-21 customer listed by Wikipedia. In 2016, FlightGlobal reported that Azerbaijan Airlines had tentatively signed a deal to lease 10 MC-21-300s from Russia’s Ilyushin Finance. However, that reporting was 8 years ago – a completely different time as far as the MC-21 is concerned.

Azerbaijan Airlines Airbus A320

Photo: Olga Visavi | Shutterstock

With little or no reporting since 2022 on Azerbaijan Airlines’ planned MC-21s, the original plan is listed here, but it is possible the deal has or will be terminated. If the MC-21 ever does take the sky using Russia’s domestic substituted parts, it will not be the same aircraft they ordered. It will be heavier, less efficient, shorter ranged, and will be unable to fly to destinations like Europe (which has withdrawn Russian certificates).

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