The European firm, global rival to Boeing <BA.N> of the United States, expects that over the next 18 years Russian carriers will buy 783 narrow-fuselage and 128 wide-bodied planes.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian aviation firms will purchase 921 airplanes worth a total of $78.7 billion by 2026, planemaker Airbus <EAD.PA> said on Wednesday.
The European firm, global rival to Boeing <BA.N> of the United States, expects that over the next 18 years Russian carriers will buy 783 narrow-fuselage and 128 wide-bodied planes.
The Airbus statement put Russia's demand for aircraft in sixth place globally, outpaced only by the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Germany and India.
Airbus estimates that annual growth in the Russian aviation market will be 6.2 percent, compared with a global average of 4.9 percent.
!ADVERTISEMENT!Russian carriers now use 68 aircraft made by Airbus, of which 36 are owned by Aeroflot <AFLT.MM> and 24 by aviation firm
S7.
Aeroflot and S7 have already ordered an additional 50 and 29 planes from Airbus, respectively.
Demand from the entire former Soviet Union over the next 18 years will amount to 1,290 planes worth a total of $104 billion, Airbus said.
(Reporting by Anton Doroshev, writing by Simon Shuster; Editing by David Cowell)
