Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 10
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iranian airlines will hold negotiations to purchase Russian short-haul passenger aircraft, Sukhoi Superjet 100, Secretary of Association of Iranian Airlines Maqsoud Asadi Samani said.
The plane manufacturer will introduce Sukhoi Superjet 100 to Iran on Dec. 13, Samani said, Mehr news agency reported Dec. 10.
After that, the Iranian airlines will make a decision on the issue, he said, adding that Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a suitable choice for Iranian airlines.
Earlier, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Moscow might deliver a big batch of Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger aircraft to Iran by 2020.
The planes can be in part localized by Iranian producers if Tehran makes a political decision to purchase ready-made aircraft, Rogozin said.
Russian aircraft manufacturers remain interested in Iran's market, despite negative viewpoints in Iran. Iran does not seem to be interested in purchasing Russian planes, since according to local reports the performance of Russian aircraft wasn't satisfactory during the sanctions period in Iran.
However, Samani said that Sukhoi Superjet 100 is completely different from other Russian planes, such as Tupolev, and enjoys a special technology.
Some European countries, including Italy and France have participated in manufacturing the plane, he added.
A total of 64 Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft are currently in service, according to Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (SCA) data. The largest aircraft operators are Aeroflot (26 airplanes), Mexico's Interjet (19) and Gazpromavia (10 jets of the long-range series).
The SSJ-100 aircraft are produced in two versions: 75-seat and 95-seat jets (the number of seats may vary depending on the passenger cabin configuration).