Russia asks Vietnam for planes as its illegally re-registered Western fleet falls apart

Russia has approached Vietnam with a proposal that Vietnamese carriers hand aircraft over to Russian airlines under a wet lease, which bundles the jets with crew, maintenance and insurance. Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin said Hanoi was studying the idea.

Vietnam's main carrier flies only Airbus and Boeing aircraft, so any transfer would involve Western-built planes. That brings a secondary sanctions risk, since companies could face US penalties for helping operate sanctioned aircraft types on behalf of a Russian airline. The same concern led Ethiopia to turn down a similar offer, and approaches to other countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East have so far yielded nothing.

Consequences of the re-registrations

After sanctions followed the February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow passed a law letting airlines re-register more than 400 foreign-leased Western aircraft in Russia rather than return them to owners. International aviation law prohibits dual registration of one aircraft, so the re-registrations are illegal, yet the International Civil Aviation Organisation has no way to force the planes' return. Lessors have filed insurance claims worth about $8 billion (€7.1bn), and many cases remain ongoing.

Before the invasion, about 850 of Russia's 900 commercial aircraft were Boeing or Airbus models, and roughly 85% were leased from foreign firms. With Western parts and technical services under sanctions, airlines have been stripping seized aircraft for components. International standards require every part to have a certified, traceable maintenance history, but Rosaviatsia issues its own certificates, which EU and US authorities do not recognise.

Of 673 aircraft flown by Russia's 11 largest airlines, 130, nearly one-fifth, are out of service, according to Russian industry data. The normal downtime rate is around 10%. Carriers outside the Aeroflot group fare worse, with 93 of 322 planes, close to a third, idle.

Fuel shortages and a proposed levy

According to Verstka, refuelling restrictions have been introduced at no fewer than 26 major airports. In St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Ufa, Irkutsk and Vladivostok, fuel is rationed to what a single flight needs. Limits are toughest in the south, where Sochi, Volgograd and Astrakhan restrict all carriers. Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries have cut fuel output, and the government has limited aviation fuel exports.

Russian media report that the transport and industry ministries and Rostec are discussing a passenger levy to finance domestically built aircraft: up to 500 roubles (€5.22) per domestic ticket and up to 1,000 roubles (€10.44) for international flights. The MC-21 and Tu-214 cost considerably more to operate than the Boeing and Airbus jets they are meant to replace, and analysts warn higher fares could reduce passenger numbers and airline revenues.