By Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren / Published March 25, 2014
A Sukhoi Superjet SSJ100 rests on the tarmac at the 2013 Dubai Airshow.
Chinese private aviation firm O-Bay Aircraft has placed an order for 100 Sukhoi Superjets. Executives from the private company confirmed the news, according to a Reuters report.
The deal is worth $3.5 billion and represents the largest order for the Russian designed airplane since it was first hatched in 2000.
More importantly, it is also expected that the deal will also see Sukhoi place a dedicated civil assembly plant in China. Reports disagree on when exactly it would – ranging from 2016 to 2018 – but once up and running the plant would go on to produce a number of the 100 jets placed on order.The building of the plant is subject to government approval.
RELATED: First Look: InterJet’s Sukhoi Superjet 100 at Paris Airshow
Scott Hamilton of Leeham News and Comment points to two factors that make this potential deal surprising. First, while this is a classic example of the types of technology transfer China is fond of, Hamilton points out that by the time the plant is finished later this decade it will represent “technology that is early 2000s, and I’m not sure what’s much to be gained.” The extensive issues the airplane has faced in production also bolster questions to why exactly this is an attractive deal.
Second, should China approve the plant, it would “hardly represent a ringing endorsement” of the home-built COMAC ARJ-21, says Hamilton. The Chinese produced 70 seat regional jet, which looks very similar to the American made Douglas DC-9, has been beset by years upon years of delays compounded by substantial design flaws. Its flight test program began in 2008 and still continues six years later. Hamilton says the program has been so disastrous that the airplane may never see an entry-into-service, thus limiting the effect of a home-built SSJ, but the potential deal begs the questions “what does [the plant deal] say about the State’s outlook for the ARJ-21?”
The SSJ Superjet made its first flight in 2008, at a field outside Moscow. Seating some 90 passengers the short to medium haul SSJ was built to compete with the Embraer 190/95 and Bombardier’s CRJ900/1000.
It entered service in April, 2011, first with Armavia. The airplane quickly ran into trouble when the carrier returned its lone jet to the manufacturer several months after delivery and cancelled remaining orders. Exactly why continues to be up for dispute: The airline claims the jet did not meet performance standards, while Sukhoi has said it was because of financial problems Armavia faced.
An Aeroflot SSJ100 seen in Krakow in 2013.
Aeroflot was the only other carrier for some time, and early on reported having technical difficulties that frequently kept the airplane on the ground. Reports in the Russian media said the carrier sought and received financial compensation from Sukhoi for the downtime. Whether the issues have continued is not clear.
But if Interjet is any guide, perhaps the early teething issues are behind the airplane. The Mexican budget carrier became the first operator in the Americas in September, 2013. The carrier has reported the airplane runs exceptionally well, citing a dispatch rate of over 99%.
The order book for the jet is notoriously non transparent, but is estimated to be around 200-250 total. Currently twenty-eight of the jets fly for eight commercial carriers, according to data from AirFleets.net.
RELATED: Interjet Receives the First Sukhoi Superjet in the West
—–
Contact the author at Jeremy.Lindgren@Airchive.com
Photos by author
No comments:
Post a Comment