MAKS: Aeroflot firms up order for 20 Superjets

The deal was signed by UAC CEO Yury Slyusar (center), Aeroflot CEO Vitaly Savelyev (left), and VEB Bank Chairman Sergey Gorkov in the presence of President Vladimir Putin (standing) (UAC)

Russian flag carrier Aeroflot signed a firm order for 20 Superjet 100 (SSJ100) regional jetliners with VEB-Leasing and the United Aircraft Company (UAC) on the first day of the MAKS exhibition.

An UAC source says deliveries will begin this summer and will continue until next July. The aircraft will be outfitted in a twin-class 87-seat layout (12 in business and 75 in coach), which is standard for Aeroflot’s current Superjet fleet. A factory new SSJ100 with registration code RA-89097 in the carrier’s livery is being demonstrated at the show.

Aeroflot signed a preliminary agreement for the airliners with OEM Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, a UAC subsidiary, in January 2015. Back then the plan was for the airline to firm it up at this year’s MAKS, which is exactly what happened.

The carrier’s current SSJ100 fleet comprises 30 airframes. Ten of these were supplied by VEB-Leasing, with the rest coming from Sberbank Leasing.

By Tatyana Volodina