Aeroflot to make big Boeing 787 order

Russian carrier Aeroflot will place an order for 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, the airline's CEO Valery Okulov said today. Asked to confirm a report that Aeroflot would place the order, Mr Okulov said: "Yes".

Russian business daily Kommersant reported on Thursday that Aeroflot would place the order at the St Petersburg Economic Forum on Saturday, in return for Boeing's cooperation in helping Russian planemaker Sukhoi develop a midrange jet.

The Aeroflot Boeing 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 Boeing order would affect an earlier deal for Aeroflot to buy 22 planes from rival maker Airbus, Mr Okulov said the Airbus order would not be affected

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