Two A350s built but undelivered to Aeroflot were moved to storage at Châteauroux-Centre "Marcel Dassault" Airport (CHR). One was sent in January and the other in March. However, both jets were moved out of CHR on May 5th and relocated to Toulouse. With the war in Ukraine still ongoing, has Airbus found a new customer for the pair of A350s?

Moved back to Toulouse

Russian carrier Aeroflot had a total of 22 A350-900 aircraft on order, with the deal being signed in March of 2007. Having taken delivery of its first on February 28th, 2020, the airline would take a total of seven before sanctions were imposed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Indeed, the last delivery took place on February 24th, 2022 - the same day Russian forces began their 'special military operation.'

Western nations took swift action against Russia, imposing sanctions and airspace bans. These actions would indeed restrict planemakers like Airbus and Boeing from selling (and delivering) aircraft to their Russian customers.

This left two A350s bound for Aeroflot stuck outside of Russia, with Airbus unable to physically deliver the two jets. According to AIB Family Flights, the two aircraft are identified as follows:

• Test registration F-WZFP, Aeroflot registration VP-BYE (MSN 463)
• Test registration F-WZNJ, Aeroflot registration VP-BXS (MSN 457)

MSN 463 was moved from Toulouse to Châteauroux on January 5th while 457 was moved on January 19th. Interstingly, MSN 457 went back to Toulouse on February 24th, only to be sent back to storage on March 10th. Both jets have been in storage until recently, flying back to Toulouse on May 5th. Why exactly is this?

Technically delivered...but not delivered to Aeroflot

The pair of aircraft already have an interesting story behind them. Indeed, in April, Reuters reported that Airbus had officially "delivered" two A350s to Aeroflot in the final hours of 2021. This delivery took place "on paper," and helped the company to meet its annual delivery targets. The "delivery" of the two jets highlighted the creative accounting process Airbus had used to meet targets without physically handing over the aircraft. Sources familiar with the system told Reuters that Airbus' auditors agreed during the pandemic to record such transactions as revenue-earning deliveries with the understanding that they were considered an "irrevocable commitment" to transfer ownership at a specific date.

While this process, in theory, had no downside, the war in Ukraine has exposed a weakness in the system - sanctions and other issues could prevent a physical delivery even after a delivery has been designated on the books. Indeed, the aforementioned sanctions have forced Airbus to abandon physical handover. On April 8th, Reuters reported that Airbus took the rare step of reversing the two deliveries that had contributed to forecast-beating 2021 results. In taking this action, the planemaker also put aside money to be refunded whenever sanctions allow. The report goes on to note that the two Aeroflot-ordered jets were put back on sale.

The jets are (or were) owned by SB Leasing Ireland, according to data from ch-aviation.com. Despite "Ireland" being in the name, the leasing firm was actually a foreign division of Russia's Sberbank. State-owned Sberbank is Russia’s largest bank and, according to The Currency, has sold its Irish aircraft leasing unit.

Is a new customer on the horizon?

While Airbus would probably be tight-lipped about the fate of these jets until a new livery is applied and subsequent (physical) delivery takes place, our best guess is that the jets have a new owner. Although, it should be made clear that we have no confirmation of this.

But with no news (as far as we know) being released on the fate of these two brand new Airbus jets, the same kind of speculation would apply as the fate of Qatar Airways' undelivered A350s. That is, to say, we should look at airlines that are on the hunt for more widebodies and have been associated with the A350. As we noted in the Qatar Airways article, Lufthansa and Air India come to mind as potential operators.

German carrier Lufthansa leased a number of additional A350s this year. Indeed, with delays to Boeing 787 deliveries, the airline could be on the hunt for more A350s - a staple of its modern long-haul fleet. Lufthansa already operates 20 A350s, consisting entirely of the -900 variant. An additional jet is on the way, with MSN 280 coming from Philippine Airlines.

US carrier Delta Air Lines could also be a candidate for the aircraft. With travel demand recovering significantly over the past year, the airline might want a quick solution that fits well with its existing fleet. The carrier already operates 24 A350-900s and has more on the way - two that were previously operated by LATAM.

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Meanwhile, Air India is not yet an operator of the Airbus A350. However, multiple sources indicated in late March that the airline was in talks with Airbus on the modernization and growth of its widebody fleet. Air India's owner, Tata Group, already has a firm relationship with Airbus through its other airlines Vistara and AirAsia India.

We should find out soon...

Ultimately, it wouldn't be surprising if we discover the new owners quite soon. Without new owners, Airbus wouldn't have much reason to pull the pair of jets out of storage. Indeed, Qatar Airways' A350-1000 with test registration F-WZHC (and MSN 430) has been at Châteauroux since early February. AIB Family Flights notes that taxi checks and RTOs had been conducted for this aircraft on March 9th and April 13th at the storage location.

Thus it's quite conceivable that the aircraft have flown back to Toulouse to be re-painted (and/or refitted) for a new airline customer. However, we will just have to wait to find out what the next chapter will be for these two A350-900s.

What do you think will happen to these two jets? Which airline would you like to see take delivery of the aircraft? Let us know by leaving a comment!

Source: AIB Family Flights, Reuters, The Currency