Aeroflot signs deal to buy 22 Boeing Dreamliners

Russian airline Aeroflot signed a deal on Saturday to buy 22 Boeing-787 Dreamliner aircraft.

The order was signed at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum by company executives in the presence of First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, who has broad responsibility for Russia's aviation sector.

As part of the agreement, Boeing will cooperate in helping Russian planemaker Sukhoi develop a mid-range passenger jet. No further details were immediately available.

The Aeroflot order has been mooted for a long time but was frozen in 2006 due to what analysts said was the worsening political climate between Moscow and Washington.

Asked whether the revival of the order would affect an earlier tentative deal to buy 22 planes from rival Airbus , Aeroflot CEO Valery Okulov said a firm order would be signed later in the year.

"We will sign a firm order for 22 A-350s either at Le Bourget or at MAKS," Okulov told reporters, referring to air shows in France and in Russia.

Okulov said that the Airbuses would enter service between 2014 and 2017. Analysts have estimated the value of the Airbus order at $2.5-3 billion.
Source : http://business.scotsman.com