Deliveries of the ordered 737 MAX have been suspended due to certification, which is being hampered by the pandemic
Russian airlines this year risk being left without previously ordered 27 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, whose operation around the world was suspended due to two disasters. This "Izvestia" said sources in the sector. Deliveries of dozens of aircraft were planned for this year, but the issue is being held back, including the necessary certification by the Federal Air Transport Agency. This process is hampered by the pandemic and restrictions on international air traffic. Companies do not expect certification until the summer. However, experts believe that the Russian aviation market at the moment and does not need additional boards.
Missed the flight
S7 Airlines, Ural Airlines, Pobeda and NordStar may not receive most of the Boeing 737 MAX planned for delivery this year (last year, Boeing removed the word "MAX"from the name of this model). Three airlines told about the postponement of deliveries of dozens of aircraft to a later date. According to Izvestia's calculations, these four carriers were supposed to receive 27 such vehicles this year. The same number was also mentioned by the interlocutor of "Izvestia" in a major airline. The issue with the supply of the 737 MAX to the Russian market is also hindered by the need for certification of these machines by the Federal Air Transport Agency, the completion date of which is still uncertain.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Zurab Javakhadze
Image source: iz.ru
Certification of the 737 MAX in Russia will not be completed until the summer, according to two sources of "Izvestia" in the two major airlines that ordered these aircraft. One of them admitted that this process may be delayed until the fall. The representative of the Federal Air Transport Agency assured that the certification process of the Boeing 737 MAX is being carried out as planned together with the Russian Aviation Registry. But he noted that it is currently premature to call the exact date of its completion.
- Certification activities are being held back due to the conditions of the pandemic and the restrictions imposed on international air traffic, which complicate the process of practical interaction with certification centers located abroad, - the representative of the agency explained earlier.
Russian specialists, who were supposed to go to the United States as part of the 737 MAX certification, received American visas more than a month ago, but still for some reason did not fly there, a source told Izvestia in a major airline. This information was confirmed by another source familiar with the certification of this type of aircraft in Russia.
A representative of the Federal Air Transport Agency declined to comment.
Boeing told Izvestia that the aircraft corporation continues to work with the Federal Air Transport Agency, as well as other global regulators and customers, to return this type of aircraft to operation around the world in compliance with high quality standards.
Boeing 737 MAX 7 aircraft
Image source: Photo: REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson
— By the end of 2021, we plan to deliver half of the 737 MAX aircraft in storage, and most of the remaining aircraft in 2022. We work closely with our customers to determine the optimal delivery time for each of them — - said the representative of the company.
Help " Izvestiya»
The first crash of the Boeing 737 MAX occurred on October 29, 2018 in Indonesia. The Lion Air plane, on Board of which there were 189 people, was flying from Jakarta to pangkal Pinang. The airliner disappeared from radar screens 13 minutes after takeoff, the crew requested a return to the airport, after which communication with it was lost. The plane crashed off the island of Java.
The second disaster occurred on March 10, 2019: an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX with 157 passengers on board, was flying from Addis Ababa to Nairobi. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot issued a distress call and requested permission to return to the airport. Six minutes after takeoff, communication with the plane was lost.
In both cases, the crashes were preceded by a malfunction of the angle of attack sensors and the resulting inadequate operation of the aircraft stall warning system (MCAS), which was guided by its data. It turned out that there was no information about MCAS in the flight crew training program.
Put on stop
According to the calculations of Izvestia, Russian airlines S7 Airlines, Ural Airlines, Pobeda, Utair and NordStar in different years ordered a total of 78 Boeing 737 MAX. Of these, only two were delivered to the S7 Airlines fleet before their worldwide suspension.
A representative of S7 told Izvestia that the company will be ready to consider the return of two cars to the schedule, as well as the appearance of new aircraft there, only when the Russian aviation authorities allow this type of aircraft to fly and with the support of the manufacturer, the retraining of flight personnel will be completed. At the same time, he said that the airline is currently negotiating the restructuring of contracts with global leasing companies for the supply of 737 MAX.
Photo: NEWS/Kazakov Alexander
Image source: iz.ru
The largest Russian customer of the 737 MAX is considered to be Utair: in 2018, the company placed an order for 28 cars, according to data from Boeing. According to the results of the first half of 2020, the carrier announced in its consolidated financial statements that it postponed the start of deliveries of these machines to June 2023. A representative of Utair told Izvestia that the company is discussing the order with Boeing. According to him, there are no final agreements on the terms of delivery of these machines.
There are no similar agreements with Boeing and the airline "Victory", which ordered 20 such aircraft, said a source of "Izvestia" in the group "Aeroflot". According to him, the low-cost airline planned to accept nine 737 maxs this year. In 2020, it placed two tenders for the provision of consulting legal services for the termination or restructuring of operating lease agreements for 20 ordered aircraft, according to the state procurement website. The representative of "Victory" refrained from commenting.
Ural Airlines expects deliveries of the ordered 737 MAX by the end of 2021, a representative of the airline said, without specifying their number. In 2018, the carrier placed an order for 14 such aircraft, four of which were planned for delivery this year, he said.
Another customer of the 737 MAX in Russia is the NordStar airline controlled by Norilsk Nickel, which has orders for five aircraft. A representative of the carrier did not respond to the request of Izvestia at the time of publication.
Photo: TASS/URA. RU/Vova Of Gavrikov
Image source: iz.ru
An increase in cargo capacity on the Russian market is currently not required, according to Alexey Sinitsky, Director of Research and Development at Infomost Consulting.
Alexander Gushchin, Deputy Director of the ACRA group of corporate ratings, adds that the surplus of aircraft existed on the Russian market even before the pandemic, and with a sharp drop in the volume of air transportation in the world, it became characteristic of the global market. According to him, the current volume of traffic can be served at the expense of the existing fleet.
In the conditions of intense competition for each passenger, which is expressed in the low cost of air tickets, the increase in the carrying capacity on the Russian market due to the new Boeing 737 MAX will not have a significant impact on prices, Alexander Gushchin believes.
Maxim Televinov
