Aeroflot Sents an A330 to Iran for Heavy Maintenance Check.

 I wondered how the Russians were going to get around the sanctions imposed after the invasion and knowing the French, I am not surprised that they probably have a cosy relationship with Iran, it is something that they would do.  Call me a cynic, I do know that the Iranians do have a good aviation program so it would stand to reason that they would be able to help the Russians out especially since we are the "Great Satan" and are supplying the Ukrainians heavily.

Russia’s largest airline Aeroflot has sent one of its Airbus A330-300 widebody airliners to Iran for technical maintenance for the first time. 

According to Flightradar24 tracking service, the aircraft with registration number RA-73700 made a technical flight to Tehran on April 5. 

Russia’s RBC online media reported that the aircraft would be served by the maintenance division of Iranian carrier Mahan Air at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. Aeroflot confirmed in a statement to the media that the provider would conduct a wide range of maintenance on its A330. “The organization has the necessary capacity, certificates and huge experience. The provider performs high-quality maintenance,” the carrier said.

The Iranian provider Mahan Air Engineering and Maintenance says it offers a wide range of component support services for Airbus A340/310/300/A320s as well as for BAe 146s, Boeing 747-300/400s, and Fokker 50 aircraft. 

This is likely the first known experience of a Russian airline servicing a Western-made aircraft in Iran. Aeroflot has previously sent its A330s for maintenance to Hong Kong-based HAECO, owned by the UK-headquartered Swire Group. However, Russian carriers were banned from access to the Western maintenance services and spare parts a year ago in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Aeroflot has its own MRO subsidiary—Aeroflot Technics—which was certified by the Russian authorities to maintain foreign-made airliners. It has already replaced nose and main gears on three A330s from the airline’s fleet this year. But it does not have capacity for a full range of services.

Aeroflot now possessess 12 A330-330s, which were leased in 2008-2012. The carrier bought eight of them back from the Irish lessors in May 2022. RA-73700 was not among them. The aircraft now has a dual registration as it still carries Bermuda registry number VQ-BNS which prevents it from flying outside Russia. 

But Iran evidently turns a blind eye on the dual registration issues as the country has lived under international sanctions, including those which affect commercial aviation, for decades. Moscow has expanded its relations with Tehran in many spheres since the start of the Russian-Ukraine war because it hasn’t joined the Western sanctions. The Iranian Mehr News Agency cited a spokesman of the country’s aviation authorities in June 2022 saying that the partners were in talks about the possibility to export parts and equipment manufactured in Iran to Russia and carry out repair and maintenance services of Russian aircraft by Iran’s repair centers.

Aeroflot operates 179 aircraft which also includes 22 Boeing 777s, 37 Boeing 737s, seven A350s, 100 A320/321ceos and neos and a single Russian-made Superjet 100.

Eight of Aeroflot’s A330s are currently in service, according to Aviation Week Network’s Fleet Discovery. An additional A330 is listed as parked, and two other A330s are stored. RA-73700 is listed as parked/reserve; the aircraft is 11.53 years old.