Superjet-100 order book hikes by 50%
Published: 16 June, 2009, 16:20
Sukhoi has signed two contracts on the civil airliner Superjet-100 for a total of 54 planes at the Le Bourget air show. Earlier the manufacturer reported it had about 100 aircraft in its order book.
The first deal is a preliminary contract with Hungarian company Malev announced on Monday. Sukhoi is to supply 30 SSJ-100s – the 98-seat version – starting from 2011. The deal is estimated to be worth $1 billion, although details have not been revealed and may change before the contract is finalized.
On Tuesday, a Russian aviation leasing company from the Perm region, Avialeasing, and Sukhoi sealed a deal for 24 Superjets. The contract is estimated at than $715 million. Avialeasing hopes that, by the time first aircraft are delivered in 2011, the air transport market will have stabilized.
“As for this batch of airplanes, we already have customers for them… They will be delivered to Russian airlines,” said the company’s Vice-President Viktor Novikov.
According to Sukhoi General Director Mikhail Pogosyan, the company plans to produce 70 SSJ-100s annually by 2012, and hold 20% of the market segment. He expects the civil aviation branch to account for 40% of the production by that time, with 40% left for military orders and the remaining 20% to services. The Superjet-100 is currently Sukhoi’s only civil model, so not surprisingly Pogosyan called it “a key factor in the strategy” of the company.
Le Bourget air show is the international debut for the Superjet-100. It is the first new civil aircraft developed in modern Russia and is produced in collaboration with several foreign aircraft producers.
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Certainly good news, as this airliner has possibilities, however, like all aircraft projects, it will struggle, unless there is big money behind it. There is no doubt that we need to build back our civil aircraft capabilities, and this aircraft appears to have a sound business case behind it. So I would like to see a big interest in domestic terms, for this aircraft and future ones, to cement our civil aviation future. To this end it would be great to see these aircraft deploying on suitable domestic routes in Russia, we all know these routes need new aircraft. Therefore why doesn't the governement act as an enabler to get more of them into the domestic market. They could act as a finacier on low interest rates to secure plane for plane finace, so as to swell the order books. This would work, by providing finace for one aircraft domestically, when an order is secured with a non financed order, with an external customer. The factory could then supply this Russian government financed aircraft to a Russian operator without risk and without competing with the external customer. This would double the present order book overnight. It would be a mix of private and public finance for growth of the industry and improving safety, comfort and environmental factors in Russia.