Belavia to add Boeing and Embraer jets to its air fleet

The national air carrier Belavia will add more Boeing and Embraer jets to its air fleet in the next two years, Igor Cherginets, Belavia Deputy Director General for Marketing and Foreign Economic Activities, told a press conference in Minsk on 31 January.

“Their number is not finalized yet; we are working on it now. Our plans will be announced after we agree on contract terms with the manufacturers and leasing companies,” he said.

Igor Cherginets reminded that a delegation of the Brazilian company Embraer had recently visited Minsk to discuss further cooperation with Belavia.

He also noted that the national air carrier is considering a possibility to buy Boeing 737-800. “This is a new generation jet, we do not have anything like that yet,” he said.

At present Belavia has 20 airplanes, including two new Embraer 175 jets that have been operated by Belavia since September-October 2012.

Founded in 1996, the national air carrier Belavia is the largest air carrier in Belarus. It is based in the national airport Minsk and offers regular flights from Minsk, Gomel, and Grodno to 24 countries of Europe and Asia. In 1997 Belavia joined the IATA, in 2010 the European Regions Airline Association (ERAA). Belavia’s services meet the highest international safety standards. In 2012 Belavia flew about 1.3 million passengers, up by 24% over 2011. Over this time Belavia carried about 1,700 tonnes of cargo and post (up by 7%)