Aeroflot puts its Airbus A320 1956 retrojet into revenue service

Aeroflot Russian Airlines (Moscow) has put its newly-delivered Airbus A320-214 VP-BNT (msn 5614) into revenue service. The flag carrier issued this statement:

The only air plane in a retro livery in Russia has joined the Aeroflot fleet celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the national flag carrier.

In late 2012 Aeroflot organized a voting in social networks to choose the best livery for its retro-jet. More than 2500 people participated in the voting process, and the livery of one of the first world’s jet airliners — Tupolev Tu-104 (appeared in 1956) was declared a winner. In the opinion of the majority of voters was this livery carried the spirit of the “romantic” 1950s, the time when the air transport industry in the country was rapidly growing and significant achievements were made in the national air construction.

The final draft of the livery to be painted on the newest Airbus A320 was designed in accordance with the voters’ comments, taking into account safety standards and recommendations from Airbus and Akzo Nobel specialists considering the paint spraying and its technical and performance parameters.

The retrojet is named “DOBROLET” after the Open Joint Stock Company found on March 17, 1923, which was the predecessor of Aeroflot. The newcomer to the Aeroflot fleet is to demonstrate the vast historical inheritance of the air company and to attract interest of the public to the long and rich history of Aeroflot.

Gaining from the synergy of prominent heritage and modern innovative development, the Russian national flag carrier, one of the oldest air companies in the world, operates one of the youngest air fleets in Europe. Currently there are 137 aircraft in Aeroflot including 87 Airbus A319/320/321 family planes.

All Airbus aircraft are received by Aeroflot directly from Airbus manufacturing plants. The airplanes are designed in two class composition and can carry 116 (A319), 140 and 158 (A320) and 170 (A321) passengers. These aircraft provide services on European and Russian domestic destinations. Airbus A320 family airplanes satisfy the highest reliability, safety and comfort standards and are one of the best for mid-range flights.

Top Copyright Photo: Aeroflot. Airbus A320-214 VP-BNT (msn 5614) is seen at the Moscow (Sheremetyevo) base. VP-BNT was handed over on May 29.

Aeroflot: