Aeroflot Signs Deal For 10 Boeing Jets

Russia’s Aeroflot air carrier on Wednesday announced it has signed a $400 million contract to buy 10 U.S.-made Boeing jetliners in a bid to compete more effectively with Western airlines.

Valery Okulov, President Boris Yeltsin’s son-in-law, who was appointed Aeroflot’s acting director last month, said the first of the 737-400 aircraft would enter service in April 1998. The company will receive all the planes by mid-1999.

Okulov said the new aircraft will be used primarily on Aeroflot’s European routes to make the airline more competitive with Western carriers on international routes.