Boeing has suspended support of Russian airlines operating its products, including spare parts sales and engineering services, adding to previously announced pauses affecting its Russian and Ukrainian operations, the company confirmed March 1, 2022. The move comes one day after Boeing said it paused pilot training in Moscow and customer-support activity in its Kyiv offices. This deals a fresh blow to operators of some 370 Boeing aircraft in Russia. Sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine will re-shape Russian operators’ fleets and their ability to secure spare parts and other aftermarket support.
Russia’s fleet of nearly 2,200 commercial aircraft includes 369 Boeing models, most of which are 737 variants, including the 737 Next Generation models. The country’s operators also have 56 777s, including 41 777-300ERs. Russian operators also have a fleet of about 350 Airbus models. Most of Russian’s foreign-built aircraft are leased, including 95 per cent of its Airbus and Boeing fleet. Many lessors, including those based in countries that have imposed sanctions, are moving to repossess their Russia-based aircraft. Sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) have given lessors a directive to end all business with Russian customers. They also have banned Russian aircraft from their airspace and put limits on spare parts sales. Other countries, including Canada and the UK, have introduced similar sanctions. US-imposed sanctions have not targeted the aviation industry as directly. Russian operators were not initially banned from US airspace, for instance and unlike the EU sanctions, the US has not banned aircraft sales and service support.
