Airlines
Russian Air Transport, Lease Markets Endure Tectonic Shifts
Economic downturn, sanctions devour airline profits
Russian carriers have withdrawn some 250 airplanes from their fleets since 2014, including all Boeing 747 passenger jets. (Photo: Flickr: Creative Commons (BY-SA) by maarten-sr)
Russian carriers have withdrawn some 250 airplanes from their fleets since 2014, including all Boeing 747 passenger jets. (Photo: Flickr: Creative Commons (BY-SA) by maarten-sr)

An economic downturn intensified by low prices for fossil fuels and Western sanctions has taken its toll on the Russian air transportation industry, which has now generated losses for three years in succession. According to figures released by Russia’s Ural Airlines during a recent finance conference in Moscow, losses in totaled 5 billion rubles ($75 million) in 2013, 25 billion rubles ($375 million) in 2014 and 30 billion rubles ($450 million) last year. The trend contrasts sharply with that witnessed by the rest of the world: the global airline industry generated some $33 billion of profit in 2015.


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