Aeroflot plans to buy 20 Antonov An-148 regional jets as part of a plan to raise the proportion of Russian-built aircraft in its fleet to 40 percent by 2020, general director Vitaly Savelyev said during a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday.
Savelyev added that the company is also interested in acquiring the An-158, a stretched version of the An-148, and Irkut's MS-21 liner, which is under development.
The An-148, which completed certification in 2007, is built by the Ukrainian Antonov company but is jointly produced by factories in Kiev and Voronezh. Aeroflot's subsidiary airline Rossiya currently operates six of the aircraft. Aeroflot's fleet currently numbers 100 aircraft, most of which are Airbus models.
(MT)