Sibir Airlines buys 25 Airbus A320 jetliners

LE BOURGET. June 19 (Interfax-AVN) - The S7 group of companies, the head firm of which is Sibir Airlines, and Airbus signed a $1.6-billion confirmed contract for the purchase of 25 new Airbus A320 jetliners during the Le Bourget air show in France.

The airplanes sold to the S7 group accommodate up to 160 passengers, have both first and economy class seats, and will be fitted with CFM56 engines produced by CFM International. They are expected to replace aging Tupolev Tu-164M airplanes used on domestic and international flights from Moscow, Novosibirsk and Irkutsk.

S7 is Russia's second largest airline by passengers carried (4.9 million in 2006, as compared to Aeroflot's (RTS: AFLT) 7.2 million). It flies a fleet of 63 jetliners, including the Airbus A310 and A319, Boeing 737-500/400, Ilyushin Il-86, and Tu-154M.

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