Boeing 747-400 | 2010-2011

Airline - Moscavia
Aircraft - Boeing 747-400 | VP-BZF
Delivered to AerCap, 1998
Leased to British International, 1998
Sold to British International, 2006
Stored at Rome Griffiths International Airport, 2008
Sold to Moscavia, 2011
Stored at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport, 2020
Livery - Standard 2010
Country - Russia

In 2010-11, Moscavia purchased four Boeing 747-400s (two of which had been stored since 2008) from British International, bringing the total number of 747s operated by the airline up to 23. VP-BZF, the last of the four to enter service, is shown here wearing the new standard livery introduced by Moscavia in 2010. The four ex-BT 747s were left in their British International cabin configurations, featuring 44 lie-flat Business Class seats in a staggered setup, spread across the fronts of both decks, as well as 405 seats in Economy, for a total capacity of 449. While this was significantly less premium-dense than the ex-SOPAS and ex-Aerocontinentale 747s that Moscavia operated on many of its premium routes, the lie-flat Business Class (with aisle access from every seat) installed on the ex-British International planes was a lot better than the lie-flat or recliner, seven-abreast, setups on the ex-SOPAS and ex-Aerocontinentale ones, respectively. Recognizing that this was now the best Business Class available on any of its aircraft, Moscavia put it to good use, deploying these four 747-400s on routes with a lot of business/corporate demand, and as such they were often found flying from Moscow to cities like Frankfurt, Guangzhou, Vladivostok, or San Francisco. Additionally, the 36 Economy seats on the upper deck had actually been marketed as Premium Economy by British International, but because Moscavia did not offer Premium Economy they were sold as regular Economy and usually reserved for frequent fliers and Worldwide Alliance elite members due to the increased seat pitch.