Red Wings to operate 100-seat Sukhoi SuperJet 100 in flights to Istanbul from Moscow, Yekaterinburg

MOSCOW/YEKATERINBURG. March 11 (Interfax) - Red Wings Airlines will be flying from Moscow to Istanbul starting from March 15 and from Yekaterinburg to Istanbul starting from March 18.

The airline said that 100-seat Sukhoi SuperJet 100 planes would be performing the flights.

"SSJ100 from the Red Wings fleet belong to Russian leasing companies, they are registered in the Russian Civil Aviation Registry and are insured and re-insured by Russian companies, which will allow the airline to meet obligations to all passengers on international flights," it said.

The SuperJet 100 is a plane type atypical for Moscow-Istanbul flights. As a rule, airlines use more spacious aircraft, such as wide-body Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 with 300 to 400 seats, depending on the configuration.

Red Wings has not performed flights from Yekaterinburg to Turkey before.

The Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) recommended that Russian airlines suspend international flights amid numerous cases of aircraft seizures abroad. The restrictions do not apply to airlines that run no risk of "seizure or detention" of their planes, the agency said.

The arrests of aircraft started after the imposition of EU sanctions. The European Union prohibited Russia from being supplied with civilian aircraft and aircraft parts and provided with aircraft maintenance and insurance services. Lessors were compelled to terminate current contracts with Russian airlines by the end of March.

Practically all planes operated by Russian airlines are registered in foreign jurisdictions, mostly in Bermuda. According to the Cirium consulting company, over half of all planes are leased from foreign owners.

Rosaviatsia recommends that international flights be performed by Russian-made aircraft registered in Russia (for instance, the SuperJet 100) and a scarce number of foreign-made aircraft owned by airlines, such as Azur Air and Utair.