Aeroflotille uusia

Aeroflot tilaa 30 uutta veäläistä 95-paikkaista Sukhoi RRJ-pikkujettiä. Tilaus antaa positiivista signaalia viime vuodet alamaissa eläneelle venäläiselle siviili-ilmailuteollisuudelle.

Russia's Sukhoi Civil Aircraft has secured much-needed support for its Russian Regional Jet programme by signing an agreement with Aeroflot for the supply of 30 aircraft.

The deal is for the 95-seat version of the RRJ and is valued at around USD 820 million.


Aeroflot will begin taking the Snecma/NPO Saturn SaM146-powered RRJs in November 2008 - two years later than envisioned under the conditions of the supply tender.


But sources close to the deal say it is based on Sukhoi's giving a discount on the batch and allowing Aeroflot to acquire aircraft at USD 17.6 million per unit.


"The RRJ family aircraft answer modern requirements for reliability, safety and operational economy and will become a base on which to increase and develop domestic and international routes of Russian carriers," says Aeroflot in a statement.


Sukhoi general director Mikhail Pogosyan says: "The RRJ programme has become an important national project. This contract with Aeroflot serves as a sign of confidence in the programme."


It is not immediately clear whether the deal also covers an option for 20 more aircraft as previously indicated.


Aeroflot shareholders have yet to approve the agreement. One of major shareholders, National Reserve Bank, claims that the choice of the RRJ in preference to the Antonov An-148 twin-jet is ill-founded and says it intends to obstruct the deal.