rate is set to rise as SCAC invests in labour
and the facilities as well as increasing
productivity and optimising its processes.SUKHOI BUSINESS JET
The business aviation market is another
area being targeted by SCAC. One Sukhoi
Business Jet (SBJ) is already in operation
in Russia and a sub-completion line is being
introduced in Venice for the international
market.
Andrachnikov explained: “In the business
jet market you always look at the range,
size and the price. In those terms we are
a unique product. The size of the fuselage
provides significant room for creativity. You
can fit a full-size bedroom in the aft section
and a shower with a glass door.
“At the same time, it is quite affordable
for a business jet compared with our close
competitors.”OPERATORS
Aeroflot signed a contract for 30 SSJ100s in
2005 but, after further consultation, decided
it wanted to improve the specifications of its
order. To avoid delivery delays, the carrier
and SCAC agreed the first ten aircraft would
be delivered in ‘light’ specification before
being replaced by jets meeting the new, ‘full’
requirements.
The latter includes an upgraded Flight
Management System (FMS) and weather
radar equipped with a wind direction
detection function. It also features additional
video control cameras, separate lighting
controls for both Economy and Business
Class and another galley. There is also
space to fit a baby cot.
Aeroflot received its first ‘light’ SSJ100
on June 6, 2011. The first jet meeting ‘full’
specification was handed over on May 31,
2013 and all ten of the ‘light’ jets originallydelivered had been replaced by the end of
June the following year. Aeroflot currently
operates a fleet of 22 SSJ100s on domestic
and European routes.
One of the type’s biggest success stories
has come in Mexico with Interjet. The airline
signed a deal for 15 aircraft plus five options
in 2011. The options were converted at the
2012 edition of the Farnborough International
Airshow with another ten options taken
during the ALTA Airline Leaders Forum in
Panama in November that year.
The first two aircraft performed their
first revenue flights on September 18,- Interjet uses the SSJ100s on its
domestic network from Mexico City to
Torreón, Aguascalientes, Campeche,
Minatitlán, Zacatecas, Mazatlán, Acapulco,
Puerto Escondido, Bajío and other local
destinations. As of October 23, 2014 the
Superjet has also been used between
Monterrey and Houston, Texas.
Interjet’s aircraft are configured with a
high-end cabin fit designed by Pininfarina.
The airline has achieved a maximum daily
utilisation of more than 11 flight hours and
had recorded in excess of 37,000 flights by
last October.
In November Interjet received its 17th and
18th examples, XA-NGO (c/n 95071), and
XA-VER (c/n 95072). Last March, the airline
executed the ten options it had taken out in
2012, growing the carrier’s eventual fleet of
SSJ100s to 30.
José Luis Garza, Chief Executive Officer
of Interjet, said: “The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is
a really good product; we are very satisfied
with its superior performance and reduced
operating costs. The SSJ100 was the right
choice for the Interjet fleet development;
it is perfectly suitable for domestic mid-
density routes as well as several short-haul
international ones.”
Andrachnikov is very proud of the
aircraft’s performance in Mexico. “It flies
http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 45Above: Final assembly takes place in SCAC’s Komsomolsk-on-Amur facility in the extreme far
east of Russia. Current production capacity at the plant is 60 aircraft per year. SCACSuperJet International carries out cabin-fitting and painting of the aircraft destined for Interjet and select other Western customers at its facility at
Venice Marco Polo Airport. Key-James Ronayne42-47_superjet.JR.mfJR.mfJR.mf.indd 45 05/01/2016 17:28