Peruvian startup airline looks to Russia

The new generation Russian airliners are going to replace the Boeing 737 Classic fleet currently operated by the Peruvian airline. Picture: Peruvian Airlines

Peru is a country whose airline industry is going through busy times. Market leader LATAM Peru, that has over 70% of the domestic market, is starting to face competition from low cost carrier Viva Air Peru, still a rather small operation but one that has 35 A320neo aircraft on order as well as a proven business model, and the potential entry as well of Chile's Sky Airline.

A remarkable piece of news, though, is that the country's second operator, Peruvian Airlines seems to be about to launch a new subsidiary that will fly exclusively Russian airliners, 10 Sukhoi Superjets and 10 MC-21s. Well, at least, a letter of intent has been signed.

These won't be the first Russian aerospace exports to Peru, whose armed forces have been flying Russian-made helicopters for quite some time. Neither will it be the first Superjet customer in Latin America (Mexico's Interjet is Superjet's international flagship customer), but it is, nevertheless, an interesting piece of news, precisely at a time when the aircraft market seems to be tending towards more concentration.

If confirmed, this would also be the third order for the MC-21 coming from outside Russia, the other two being from Egypt and Azerbaijan, and certainly the first from the Americas.