Belavia buys five new aircraft. What we fly: the origin and age of Belavia aircraft Flight prospects and future orders
MINSK, April 9 - Sputnik. Belavia buys five new planes from the Danish leasing company Nordic Aviation Capital, Anatoly Gusarov, director general of the Belarusian national carrier, said on Monday.
"The Embraer-175 and Embraer-195 medium-range passenger planes occupy a place in the air fleet between a roomy Boeing-737 and a small CRJ," Gusarov explained.
Thanks to the purchase of new aircraft, Belavia hopes to increase the frequency of flights.
Under the terms of the contract, the first three aircraft will be delivered in April, before the start of the second European Games, which will be held in Minsk in 2019. The remaining aircraft will arrive in Belarus in December 2019 and April 2020. Aircraft are bought on lease, and after 12 years they will be returned to suppliers.
Why do we need new planes
By all measures, including fuel economy, the new aircraft are more efficient.
"The newer the aircraft, the less it stands on the ground, it needs less maintenance," the deputy explained. CEO"Belavia" Igor Cherginets.
The airline's savings affect the cost of tickets. According to Cherginets, it cannot be said that Belavia tickets will become cheaper with the purchase of new aircraft, but the company plans to continue working on reducing prices.
"Passengers' demands to reduce prices are a natural process. In last years We are systematically reducing them," he explained.
Gusarov noted that the Belavia company is often reproached for the age of the aircraft. He assured that the level of safety is equally well ensured on all ships, but the new aircraft have a number of advantages - they have more comfortable seats, lower noise levels.
A new Belavia aircraft was met in Minsk. He flew straight from . The plane reached Belarus with three landings.
Meeting the new aircraft at Minsk National Airport
Embraer-175 is designed for short flights, so on the way to Belarus the pilots had to make three intermediate landings. One - in Brazil, at the Recife airport. Then - on the island of Sal in the Atlantic Ocean. The third stop is in Spain, Alicante. This airport of departure was listed today on the online scoreboard of the Minsk National Airport.
Director General of Belavia Airlines Director General of Belavia flew to Minsk on board a new plane from Brazil Anatoly Gusarov.
The Embraer-175 arrived immediately in the airline's new, cornflower blue color scheme. The interior of the aircraft is kept in the same style.
In addition to this Embraer, two more aircraft will be delivered to Minsk from the plant in Brazil in the coming months. The Belarusian airline plans to form a fleet of aircraft from two manufacturers: Embraer and Boeing.
Belavia does not say how much the new aircraft cost, but it was previously reported that the cost of the order for two aircraft (Embraer-175 and Embraer-195) amounted to $99.1 million.
The Development Bank and the Brazilian financial agency are participating in financing the purchase of the new Embraer.
The new Embraer-175, which Belavia buys from a factory in Brazil, completed its main test flight yesterday. Today he will go to Minsk across the Atlantic Ocean. TUT.BY visited the acceptance of the aircraft in Brazil.
On April 16, Belavia Airlines accepted a new aircraft with a cornflower on board into its fleet. This time - from the Embraer plant, which is located in Brazil, the state of Sao Paulo. Tonight he will fly to Belarus.
Among the employees of Belavia, who will accompany Embraer-175 to the country, there will be the general director of the airline Anatoly Gusarov, who told TUT.BY about the features of the distillation of the new aircraft.
General Director of Belavia Anatoly Gusarov personally received a new aircraft in Brazil “The Embraer-175 is designed for short flights, two to three hours maximum, so we will fly long enough, with three intermediate landings. The first technical landing is for refueling on the very outskirts of Brazil, at the Recife airport. it extreme point in front of the Atlantic Ocean. Then - technical landing on the island of Sal. And the third stop, where the plane will be refueled, and the crew will rest, because working hours are ending, is in Spain. After that we will be able to fly to Minsk.
The first distance that the new plane will cover on its way to Belarus is two thousand kilometers, two more - three and a half thousand kilometers each.
In Minsk, the new board will be met on April 19. This Embraer-175 is one of three aircraft that Belavia will buy from a factory in Brazil in 2018. The other two aircraft will be delivered to Minsk in May and June.
Belavia plans to develop its fleet, limiting itself to aircraft manufactured at the Embraer and Boeing factories.
“The business model of our airline requires that there be aircraft of different capacities,” explains Anatoly Gusarov. - Embraer occupies one niche, Boeing another. Boeing does not produce aircraft with 110-120 seats, Embraer does not produce aircraft with more than 150 seats.
Since the new Embraer-175 left the production line, it has already completed several test flights. The manufacturer himself tested the aircraft several times, then Belarusian pilots and engineers flew it. They say that the Belarusians are satisfied with the plane, the manufacturer immediately eliminated minor remarks.
Commander of the Aviation Detachment of Belavia Airlines Oleg Saltovsky today performed a general test flight on the new Embraer. It lasted an hour and a half.
— They flew over the ocean. We moved to the Sao Paulo area, about 50 kilometers from the coast. We climbed 12,500 meters, did some exercises and returned here to Sao Jose Dos Campos,” says the pilot. “We looked at how the pressurization system, the air conditioning system, the navigation system work, how the aircraft is controlled manually, on landing, how other systems work. There are no comments, everything is in order.
Now the new Embraer-175 has a difficult path ahead - a flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
The Atlantic is the Atlantic. This lack of navigation aids, radar control. Well, the weather, — adds the pilot.
Oleg Saltovsky formerly Embraer from a factory in Brazil to Minsk.
The pilot tells what makes the Embraer-175 special in comparison with the previous model of the aircraft line - 6.8% less fuel consumption, 450 kilometers more flight range. The landing gear, spring shock absorbers were slightly changed, the firmware of the navigation system was changed. It allows more data to be entered on the ground to reduce the workload for pilots in the air.
Do the redesigned landing gear mean a softer landing for passengers? Pilot Oleg Saltovsky answers this question:
- There are no landings soft, rough. There are safe landings - and this is the most important thing.
Belavia did not name the amount of the transaction during the transfer of the aircraft. However, Belavia General Director Anatoly Gusarov noted that the Development Bank and the Brazilian financial agency are participating in financing the project for the purchase of Embraers.
Belavia received the first Embraer in 2012. Now the fleet has two Embraers-175 and two Embraers-195. In addition to three more aircraft that are now being bought from the Brazilians, there are five aircraft from the same manufacturer, Belavia. The airline does not exclude that from 2021 Belavia may switch to the new generation E-2 aircraft, which the manufacturer is now preparing for release.
In addition to Embraer aircraft, Belavia's fleet includes five Boeing 737-800s, six Boeing 737-500s and seven Boeing 737-300s, as well as four CRJ-100/200 LRs. 
He was waited for a long time. And not only him. Along with it, new directions, a new era, a new stage of development come to the company. The brand new Boeing 737-800NG in a new livery will be the first step in the rebranding of the Belavia airline.
The idea and the image of the livery were carefully concealed, sometimes true, true, slightly opening the veil of secrecy, for example, in the livery of the newly arrived "tank plane" Boeing 737-300 with elements of the "World of Tanks" game on board, one could see one of the elements, but that's it. denied - wait for the official presentation, and you will find out everything. But to hide something big from the ubiquitous aviation enthusiasts, for example, an airplane, and even more so an airplane in a new livery, which, moreover, was painted at the factory and flew there during tests, was caught in lenses and posted on the Internet. Representatives of Belavia could no longer keep the intrigue and invited media representatives, as well as aviation enthusiasts, to Minsk to a solemn meeting of the new aircraft.
So let's meet! New livery of Belavia!
On August 15, 2016, she received the first of the three new Boeing 737-800s ordered in 2014. The other two will arrive in Minsk in October and December this year. What will it give first of all to passengers?
According to the representative of the airline Igor Cherginets for passengers, this means higher reliability, and hence safety. And this is the most important priority in aviation. 
Punctuality will increase. The level of comfort of flights will increase. Extended luggage racks for hand luggage. Ergonomic passenger seats. New technologies have been applied in the interior of the aircraft (Boeing Sky Interior), which makes night flights comfortable thanks to a special changing cabin lighting. 
With these aircraft, the airline hopes to reduce the operating costs of flights, which will necessarily entail reduced ticket prices for passengers. This should apply to both regular flights and charter flights (which means that the cost of tours will also decrease). The new Boeing 737-800s are much more efficient than the previous generation aircraft.
Belavia will continue to try to acquire new equipment. This is unconditionally beneficial for both the passenger and the airline. We were convinced of this when we took the new Embraer 175 and Embraer 195. Of course, if the airline had such funds or could use cheap credit resources, then Belavia would be more actively involved in updating its fleet.
With the advent of new Boeings, the three most beloved and respected by all, without exception, the Tupolev Tu-154, will go down in history. This will be their last year flying with this airline.
But we must pay tribute - the company respects these magnificent and wonderful machines, allowing everyone to finally touch this legend once again by organizing the Flight for the sake of flight event, which will be held on October 1 this year. 
But let's get back to the current moment and see how the new aircraft was met at the National Airport of Minsk. Of course, it was not without a welcome water arch, which is used to meet and see off new planes and flights. 
While everyone was waiting for the plane, we take pictures of the platform 
After the arrival of the board, they immediately begin to service it, in order to then be towed to the hangar, where the ceremonial handover of the aircraft will take place. 
Near the hangar, the plane was greeted, as they say, with thunderous applause. There is a holiday feeling everywhere. 
A sky-colored plane and the sky is blue and beautiful. Let's get on board. 
The new Boeing 737-800s received by Belavia are equipped with modern passenger Boeing showrooms Sky Interior, which features variable lighting to help passengers cope with jet lag and overnight flights. 
The design and functionality of the cabin provides for increased space for hand luggage and more space for each passenger. 
The new Belavia aircraft is designed to carry 189 economy class passengers. The airliner is planned to be used both on regular and on charter flights. The aircraft will make its first commercial flight on August 20 after the completion of all customs and technical procedures. 
The new corporate identity will be presented in the external design of the air carrier's corporate elements: aircraft and office interiors, crew uniforms, documentation templates, official website, navigation and advertising surfaces. 
The development of the livery took a year and a half. The main developers of the airline's new style were two American branding agencies, Teague (interior design) and Paul Wylde (livery design). When developing the layout, the emphasis was on new principles in the airline's approach: punctuality, reliability, modernity. Of the five proposed concepts, one was chosen, where the cornflower became the key symbol. 
The main new element of the Belarusian airline "Belavia" is the traditional Belarusian flower, which has long been considered a symbol of purity, friendliness and friendliness. The core of the graphic "cornflower" means home, that is, Belarus, where you always want to return, and the blue flower petals convey the feeling of flying and moving forward. Cornflower also reflects the airline's slogan "We Connect". 
“Fares, service and route network play a key role for passengers. We are trying to reduce ticket fares and aim for a hybrid airline model. With the new corporate identity, we want to emphasize the transition from the image of a classic airline to a new model. We monitor global trends and changes in the market, as well as follow the wishes of our passengers and try to respond promptly to them,” Anatoly Gusarov added. 
Something like this this time. Not saying goodbye!
