Russian SSJ-100 airliners may soon take to Iranian skies
Deliveries of Russian SSJ-100 (Sukhoi SuperJet-100) airliners to the Islamic Republic of Iran have been discussed between Moscow and Tehran, Energy Minister Alexander Novak told Rossiya-24 TV channel.
“We talked about the possibility of Sukhoi SuperJet-100 purchases by our Iranian partners and outlined a plan of how this can be put it into practice,” he said.
Novak added that the sides have also agreed to deliver various other Russian-made vehicles to Iran. “Today, we discussed the deliveries of rail carriages. We have already delivered 1,200 of them and plan to deliver about 3,000 in 2018,” he said.
According to the minister, additional sales of Russian-made buses, as well as trucks produced by Russia’s KAMAZ and UAZ plants are being discussed. The two countries have been also negotiating local production of the SSJ 100 airliner to replace Iran's ageing fleet on regional routes.
Iran has a shortage of modern aircraft due to decades-long sanctions imposed by Western countries. Local airlines are looking for reliable regional jets, and the Russian models could bolster the country’s aviation industry.
Sukhoi SuperJet-100 is Russia’s newest twin-engine regional passenger aircraft, which began operating commercially in 2011. More than 60 aircraft are in service with airlines in Laos, Mexico, and Russia.
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