Russian SSJ-100 airliners to dominate Iranian skies as Moscow strikes new aviation deal

Memorandums on the delivery of 40 Sukhoi Superjet-100 (SSJ-100) passenger planes to Iran have been signed by Moscow and Tehran at the Eurasia Airshow, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft President Aleksandr Rubtsov has said.

Iran will receive the new SSJ100R version of the airliner by 2022, according to Rubtsov. Initially, both parties considered a deal for 100 aircraft, but they required approval from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control since the Superjet has US-made components. Sukhoi has reduced the proportion of such components to less than 10 percent, which means no US approval is now required.

“So far, we have signed two agreements of intent with two Iranian airlines (Iran Air Tours and Aseman Airlines) on deliveries of 20 Sukhoi Superjet aircraft in the RRJ-95R (SSJ100R) modification for each of these companies,” Rubtsov said. He added that the contract will be signed by the end of 2018. The catalog price for a SSJ100R aircraft is about $52 million.

Sukhoi SuperJet-100 is Russia’s newest twin-engine regional passenger aircraft. It began operating commercially in 2011. More than 60 aircraft are in service with airlines in Laos, Mexico, and Russia.

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.

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