These aircraft would replac 15 Airbus A319s of older vintage in Rossiya's fleet, group management said in a presentation at an investor conference.

With the 20 Superjets accommodating 90 passengers each, the carrier will preserve its capacity after withdrawing 120-seat A319s.

Under an agreement signed in 2015, Sukhoi's civil division is to supply the entire batch over the next two years, but the delivery schedule is still to be finalised, says Aeroflot chief executive Vitaly Saveliev.

In August, Aeroflot received the last of 30 Superjets covered by a launch order placed in January 2005. The manufacturer started delivering them in June 2011.

Since then, working jointly with Aeroflot, Sukhoi has resolved the type's teething problems in some areas, such as landing gear and flap-retraction systems, says Saveliev.

He adds: "Now it puts special emphasis on producing spare parts to meet demand stemming from intensive use of Superjets by Aeroflot."