Zagreb will be the first former Yugoslav airport to welcome the 87 seat Sukhoi Superjet 100, in news which will be warmly welcomed by aviation spotters. The Russian national carrier, Aeroflot, will deploy the aircraft type on the route from the start of the 2012/2013 winter season, which begins on October 28. The aircraft will be used on all four weekly flights between Moscow and the Croatian capital. However, the introduction of the new aircraft also marks a cut in capacity. Up until now, Aeroflot has operated flights to Zagreb with the larger Airbus A320. Originally, Aeroflot announced it would operate daily flights to the Croatian capital throughout the winter season, as was the case this summer, but has changed its plans.
Zagreb joins the likes of Copenhagen, Dresden and Bucharest as one of the rare airports outside the former Soviet Union to be served by the aircraft type. Aeroflot is the only carrier to operate flights between Moscow and Zagreb and faces no competition on the route. Besides Zagreb, within the former Yugoslavia, Aeroflot also maintains services to Belgrade, as well as seasonal flights to Tivat, Split and Dubrovnik. The airline once operated flights to both Skopje and Ljubljana as well.
The Russian made Sukhoi jet entered into commercial service a year ago. Aeroflot currently boasts ten aircraft of the type, although six are being returned to the manufacturer due to technical glitches. The airline has another twenty one on order. Another 246 orders have been placed for the Sukhoi jet by various airlines. Representatives of the plane manufacturer visited the EX-YU region earlier in the year in an attempt to promote the aircraft.