Some carriers are seeking alternatives because Russian airlines are currently unable to access the official parts and spares markets. Aeroflot is transferring several of its A330s to Iran for maintenance, it was discovered earlier this week. A company that makes parts and components for the aerospace and defence industries was revealed to have a majority stake by S7 Airlines, the largest private airline in Russia, almost at the same time. The implication is that S7 has gained control of the Berdsk Electromechanical Factory (BEMZ) ("ердски лектромеаниески авод"- "M") so that it can produce its own parts in the future.
Russian news outlet Interfax reported that Sergey Savchenkov, a former director of S7 Space (another company in the S7 Group), had acquired an additional 59.52% of the capital and that OOO Engineering, a S7 subsidiary, had purchased 22,66% of Berdsk Electromechanical Factory. The Berdsk Electromechanical Factory was established in 1959 and is a precision manufacturer of parts and components for the aerospace industry. It is situated in the same-named city near Novossibirsk, Siberia. One of the organisations that purportedly collaborates with the purchased company is Roskosmos, the Russian space agency.
S7 temporarily grounded its eight Airbus A321 aircraft in January 2023. While the airline claimed that this was because of operational and planned changes, various voices on Russian social media channels suggested that the engines may have been having issues.