The Russian regional airline has taken delivery of its first Airbus A319-100 - not an unknown aircraft for Russia.

IrAero Airlines started using Western-made aircraft on regional routes relatively early on. The four Bombardier CRJ100 resp. CRJ200 complemented the fleet of Antonov An-24 and An-26 at that time. But in the meantime the Canadian aircraft have been decommissioned with the exception of one unit and have now been replaced by seven Sukhoi SSJs. However, the Antonovs are still an important part of the fleet. In addition to nine An-24s, IrAero also operates two An-26s on passenger flights. In addition, eight other An-26s are flying in cargo service.

With the fleet of three Boeing 777-200ERs, IrAero took over financially in 2018 - like VIM Airlines a year earlier. But thanks to a 51% stake from the Irkutsk Region administration and the phasing out of Boeing planes, the IrAero's journey continued.

Now IrAero has been able to supplement its fleet with the first Airbus A319-100. The 16-year-old aircraft flew to its new and old home in Russia on August 12, 2021. Because the A319 registered as VP-BKD is no stranger. The former easyJet machine had four different Russian operators since 2012: RusLine (2012-2013), Tatarstan Air (2013-2014), VIM Airlines (2014-2017) and most recently iFly Airlines (2018-2021). In addition to this machine, IrAero is to take over two more A319s in the future.

But how long are the A319s supposed to stay in the fleet? Are they only intended as an interim solution? There is still no answer. IrAero signed an order for ten Irkut MS-2013-21s for delivery between 300 and 2019 back in 2022. The (late) certification of this new Russian model is now targeted for 2022 and IrAero could be one of the first operators of this model. We'll see if the days of the A319 at IrAero are numbered again.