On May 29, S7 Airlines announced an order for 15 787s valued at US$2.4 billion at list prices, plus 10 purchase rights.

Delivery date and engine choice were not announced. The order occurs as the airline, the largest domestic carrier in Russia, works to distance itself from last summer's A310 runway overrun in Irkutsk that claimed 124 lives. It passed the IOSA audit in December 2006 and has committed to a fleet revamp that included the delivery of 14 Western aircraft last year as well as the May 29 order.

"The 787's size and superior range open up a wider choice of destinations that we can offer our customers," General Director Vladislav Filev said. S7, formerly Sibir Airlines, is the first Russian customer for the 787. Aeroflot has committed to the A350XWB.

S7 currently operates seven A310s, seven A319-100s, two 737-400s, 10 737-500s, nine IL-86s and 28 Tu-154s. The IL-86s are due to be retired in the next few years. It has four A320s and 10 737-800s on order.

Aeroflot's international network bumps S7 to second overall among Russian carriers in terms of passenger numbers. It transported 4.9 million people in 2006, up 16.4% from the year before. Sixty percent of its traffic is domestic.