Rebranding & Westernization | 1992

(TOP)
Airline - Russian International Airlines
Aircraft - Boeing 737-400 | VP-BPT
Delivered to Russian International Airlines, 1992
Sold to Moscavia, 2005
Sold to Voronezh Airlines, 2009
Sold to Solomonese, 2014
Stored at Victorville, 2020
Livery - Standard 1992
Country - Russia

(BOTTOM)
Airline - Russian International Airlines
Aircraft - Tupolev Tu-154M | RA-35101
Delivered to Sovnaravia, 1983
Transferred to Russian International Airlines, 1991
Sold to Voronezh Airlines, 1997
Stored at Moscow Domodedovo International Airlines, 2012
Scrapped at Moscow Domodedovo International Airlines, 2015
Livery - Standard 1992
Country - Russia

In 1992, Russian International Airlines began taking delivered of 737-400s, as it had placed an order for fifteen aircraft of the type the year prior. These 737s were the first Western-built airliners to enter service in Russia. Together with the new type, a new livery was introduced, featuring the colors of the new Russian flag, and a naming convention wherein each newly-delivered aircraft would receive the name of a culturally or historically significant Russian. For example VP-BPT - shown here - bore the name of 19th/20th century poet Demyan Bedniy. The only Soviet type to receive the new livery was the Tu-154, and RA-35101 is shown here wearing it.

In its first decade of operations, Russian International Airlines suffered from a series of high-profile accidents. Apart from a RIA Tu-134 and Il-76 crashing in 1992 and 1993 respectively, a Tu-154 was destroyed in a high-speed runway excursion in Moscow in 1993, and another flew into a hill in low-visibility conditions on approach to Novosibirsk in 1997. Shortly after this, a 737-400 lost control and crashed killing all aboard in Perm in 1998. This accident was especially damaging for the airline's reputation as the cause was found to be pilot error caused by insufficient training, casting doubt on the safety of Russian pilots in general. This led to a huge emphasis on pilotage and safety training not only for Russian International Airlines crews, but for all Russian pilots in general. Unfortunately, that was not quite the end of RIA's safety issues.