Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. (SCAC) and SuperJet International (SJI) will announce the first customer for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) business and VIP version at the National Business Aviation Assn. Convention (NBAA) in Las Vegas next week. Delivery of the first Sukhoi Business Jet (SBJ) is expected in 2014, SJI CEO Carlo Logli said at the European Regions Airline Assn. (ERA) general assembly in Rome last week.
SCAC and SJI shareholders endorsed the development of the SBJ earlier this year and said they will target 80 to 100 orders in the next 20 years. The SBJ is the first variant of the SSJ100, which entered commercial service in April with Armavia (ATW Daily News, April 19). The second and third aircraft were delivered to Aeroflot in June and August, respectively (ATW Daily News, May 23).
“Dispatch reliability of the aircraft is about 96%-97%. This is below our target but we believe it is good performance for a new aircraft type that had its EIS only a few months ago,” Logli noted. He also said that SCAC and the other SSJ100 industrial partners are on target in the aircraft’s weight reduction program. The SSJ100 is about two tonnes heavier than its original specifications detailed in 2005. The first 12-months’ weight reduction phase is up and running and aims to shave off one tonne, Logli said.
This year another five SSJ’s will be delivered and the production rate will gradually increase to three per month by the end of 2012. “In 2013 we are planning to deliver 40,” according to Logli. To support the increasing need for SSJ pilots, SJI will add two SSJ100 full flight simulators (FFS) next year—one in the SJI training center in Venice and one the Aeroflot training center at Moscow Sheremetyevo airport. The first SSJ100 FFS level V, produced by Thales, is installed at the SJI training center in Zhukovsky and will be fully operational in the next few months.
SJI is also spreading the geographical footprint of its logics support. “We have identified Fort Lauderdale [Fla.] for the support warehouse to cover spare parts requirements in the Americas,” Logli revealed. SJI cooperates with Lufthansa Technik Logistics for is spare distribution centers. SJI, which is responsible for worldwide after sales of the SSJ and sales of the aircraft in the Western areas, in January, finalized a contract with Interjet. The Mexican carrier will take delivery of its first SSJ100 in the second half of 2012, Logli confirmed.
SJI senior VP-commercial Paolo Rivelli Beaumont told reporters that the company had participated in an RFP by Delta Air Lines and more recently by SkyWest. “I’m not putting hopes up we will win the [WestJet] tender, I do not think so. But this shows our motivation and drive to become a serious player the regional aircraft market,” he said. The SSJ100 has logged 168 firm orders so far.
The aircraft still needs to obtain EASA certification. This expected by year end, SJI executives said. The aircraft performed hot soak tests (above 40 degrees Celsius) in the UAE this summer and an aircraft is currently in Toluca, Mexico, to perform hot and high altitude tests.