OREANDA-NEWS. On August 28, 2008 S7 Airlines, Russia’s largest air carrier by number of transported passengers on domestic routes, has obtained under an operational leasing agreement a Boeing 737-800, which was flown for the first time on the Novosibirsk-Moscow route on August 26, 2008, reported the press-centre of S7 Airlines.

The airliner was flown from Maastricht (Netherlands), where it was painted, to Novosibirsk Tolmachevo airport, one of S7’s main airports, for customs clearance. Built in 2001, the airplane had previously been used in the USA. The narrow-bodied Boeing 737-800 airliner is configured with 12 business- and 148 economy-class seats.

In August 2008 the airplane will complete several flights on the Moscow-St. Petersburg and Moscow-Samara routes. Beginning in September, 2008 the Boeing 737-800 will begin to complete flights from Moscow to Barnaul, Kemerovo, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi and Ulan-Ude.

The purchase of the new airliner is part of S7 Airlines’ plans to sign large contracts with the ILFC leasing company for the delivery of foreign-made airplanes as part of a strategic program to renew and modernize its fleet of aircraft. S7 Airlines and ILFC signed an agreement for the delivery of four Boeing airplanes in June of this year, which was announced at the Farnborough 2008 International Airshow.

The Boeing 737-800 is the first of four airliners of this type that the company plans to obtain by the end of this year. S7 Airlines will also add to its fleet two Boeing 737-400s and three Boeing 767-300s in 2008. Currently S7 Airlines uses three Boeing 737-500s and two Boeing 737-400s.

Reference information:
Leading airlines throughout the world give preference to the Boeing 737-800, the most popular modification of the Boeing 737 Next Generation model, which has proven to be highly reliable, fuel efficient, and inexpensive to maintain. The Boeing 737-800 has a 480 km longer range than competing models, uses 7% less fuel and carries more passengers.

The Boeing 737-800 is 39.5 m long, has a top speed of 850 km/hr and a range of 5,425 km.