First flown in Januar y 1963, the llyushin Il-62 was designed to complement and partially to replace the Tupolev Tu-114 on Aeroflot's long-range domestic and intercontinental routes. A cantilever low-wing monoplane with swept wings, a T-tail with all swept surfaces, retractable tricycle landing gear and four engines mounted in pairs on each side of the rear fuselage, the II-62 entered service during 1967. Initial operations had been on cargo services, but on 10 March passenger/mail services were inaugurated on the Moscow-Khabarovsk and Moscow-Novosibirsk routes. When, on 15 September 1967, Aeroflot introduced the type on its Moscow-Montreal route, the II-62 represented the Soviet Union's first long-range four-engined intercontinental jet transport. The II-62 has the NATO reporting name 'Classic' and it is believed that more than 210 have been built, some 200 remaining in airline service.