According to a report by 'European News Channel' on October 7, Russia has proposed leasing Vietnamese aircraft, crew, and related maintenance services on a wet lease basis. However, any such lease arrangement will involve Airbus or Boeing aircraft, which could expose Vietnamese airlines to the risk of secondary sanctions.
According to reports, nearly one-fifth of Russian airlines’ aircraft have been grounded, with the grounding rate being twice the normal level.
Russian Transport Minister Andrey Nikitov said that Russia has proposed for Vietnam airlines to transfer the aircraft to Russian airlines under a wet lease arrangement. A wet lease includes full services for passenger planes, crew, maintenance, and insurance. Vietnam is currently studying this proposal.
All major airlines in Vietnam operate Airbus and Boeing aircraft. This means that any leases provided to Russia will involve the use of Western-made passenger planes.
Considering the risks of secondary sanctions that this would entail, Ethiopia has refused similar proposals.
If relevant companies assist Russian airlines in operating aircraft subject to sanctions, they may face U.S. penalties. Russia's efforts to establish contacts with other countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East have not yet yielded any results.
"European News Agency" believes that Russia's request to Vietnam is sufficient evidence of the state of its air fleet. These planes rely on legally questionable re-registration procedures to operate, and their parts do not meet international safety standards.
After the Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted in February 2022, Russia was subject to sanctions. Russia enacted a law that allows airlines to register Western-style aircraft leased from abroad in their domestic markets, without having to return the aircraft to its original owners.
According to reports, international aviation law prohibits a single aircraft from having dual registrations. Therefore, Russia’s re-registration action is ‘illegal’. However, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) does not have any enforcement mechanisms to force Russia to return the aircraft.
The landlord has submitted insurance claims amounting to approximately $8 billion (about 53.6 billion RMB) in order to recover its losses, and many cases are still being processed.
Before the full-scale war, about 850 of Russia's 900 civil aircraft were Boeing or Airbus models manufactured in Europe and America. Approximately 85% of these aircraft were leased from overseas companies.
Currently, Western components and technical services are subject to sanctions. As a result, airlines are forced to disassemble these seized aircraft to obtain their components, further exacerbating legal issues.
According to international aviation standards, every component must have traceable, certified maintenance records. Parts removed from aircraft that have broken away from Western certification maintenance chains cannot be used on passenger aircraft that operate international flights under legal regulations.
The Russian civil aviation regulatory agency, the Federal Aviation Agency of Russia, issues certifications for such components on its own. However, both the European Union and U.S. aviation authorities do not recognize the validity of these certifications.
Russian industry data shows that of the 673 aircraft operated by 11 leading airlines in the country, 130 aircraft (approximately one-fifth) are not operational. The normal flight suspension rate is about 10%.
Other airlines outside of Aeroflot are in even worse situation: out of a total of 322 aircraft, 93 are grounded, which is nearly one-third of the total.
Fuel supply is another major challenge. According to media report by Verstka, fuel refueling restrictions have been implemented at at least 26 of Russia’s major airports.
Saint Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Ufa, Irkutsk, Vladimir Oblast airports implement fuel rationing, with the amount of fuel allocated only sufficient for a single flight.
The most stringent restrictions are in southern Russia: Sochi, Volgograd, and Astrakhan impose fuel control measures on all airlines. Unexpected drone attacks on Russian refineries have led to a reduction in fuel production, prompting the Russian government to restrict the export of aviation fuel.
Russian media reports indicate that the Russian Ministry of Transport and Industry, among other departments, are still discussing the introduction of additional special charges for passengers, in order to raise funds for the procurement and operation of domestic aircraft.
It is estimated that for domestic flights, a maximum charge of 500 rubles per ticket will be applied (approximately 39 yuan), and for international flights, a maximum charge of 1000 rubles per ticket will be applied (approximately 78.7 yuan).
Russian-made MC-21 and Tu-214 aircraft have significantly higher operating costs compared to the Boeing and Airbus models that are planned to replace them. Airlines need to rely on government subsidies or charging passengers to maintain their operations.
Analysts warn that rising ticket prices may reduce the number of passengers, thereby squeezing airlines’ revenues.
