The Russian and French prime ministers looked on as
Russia's national carrier, Aeroflot, signed off on an deal to
buy 18 new Airbuses last month during a state visit to Airbus
Industrie's headquarters in Toulouse, France.
The deal for the A319 and A320 medium-range aircraft was first
mooted this summer but Aeroflot has been struggling to find funding
and to overcome lobbying by the Russian aviation lobby for the
airline to buy Russian.
While the rest of the world's aviation industry remains mired in
depression, Aeroflot has had a good year. It failed to add
significantly to passengers carried over the first nine months of
this year but thanks to corporate restructuring it is on track to
nearly quadruple its net profit to $75 million this year. It's a
far cry from 1999 when it lost...
