Russia seeks Vietnamese wet-lease of Airbus and Boeing jets as its seized fleet falters
Moscow has asked Vietnam to provide wet-leased passenger aircraft, crews and maintenance, a move driven by the collapse of Russia's illegally re-registered Western fleet, which now has about one-fifth of its major airlines grounded.
Russia's transport ministry has proposed that Vietnamese carriers supply passenger jets, crews, maintenance and insurance under a wet-lease arrangement to compensate for the failing aircraft seized from Western lessors. Because Vietnam's airlines operate only Airbus and Boeing models, the deal would require using Western-built planes, raising the risk of U.S. secondary sanctions similar to those that deterred Ethiopia.
The request reflects the decay of Russia's illegally re-registered fleet, where about 130 of 673 aircraft operated by its ten largest airlines are grounded, a rate twice the normal downtime, with non-Aeroflot carriers facing even higher idle ratios. Compounding the crisis, fuel is being rationed at major airports such as St Petersburg and Vladivostok, and officials are discussing a passenger levy of up to 500 roubles domestically and 1,000 roubles internationally to fund domestically produced MC-21 and Tu-214 jets, which are more expensive to run. Analysts warn that higher ticket prices could depress demand and cut airline revenues.
Why it matters
The deal shows how sanctions have crippled Russia's aviation sector and could pull Vietnam into secondary sanction risks.
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