Russian airlines are at risk of running into problems keeping their Sukhoi Superjet 100 fleet airworthy. The supply of engine parts for the regional jet has come to a standstill due to Western sanctions, warns regional airline IrAero, among others.

Although the SSJ-100 is a Russian-made aircraft, foreign parts are also used in the type. The most important are the SaM146 engines: they are supplied by Powerjet, a joint venture of the French Snecma and the Russian NPO Saturn.

Yuri Lapin, IrAero's general manager, has warned in a recent letter to the governor of the Irkutsk region that the Superjet fleet must be grounded in the short term. The Russian news medium RBC has a copy of the letter, the authenticity of which has been confirmed by a source within IrAero.

Managers of three other airlines flying Superjet reported to RBC that they are experiencing problems with engine maintenance since the introduction of EU sanctions banning the export of aircraft parts to Russian airlines. According to one of them, his airline will have to stop Superjet flights if technical support for the engines does not improve.

To solve the problem, IrAero director Lapin asks the governor to propose that the Russian government transfer all powers for repairing engines and supplying spare parts to the United Engine Corporation (UEC), part of the state-owned Rostec. About 150 SSJ-100s are currently in service in Russia, mainly on vital regional routes.

Meanwhile, the Russian aviation industry is working on a version of the SSJ-100 with PD-8 engines from the national manufacturer Aviadvigatel. However, this variant would not be ready for commissioning until 2024 at the earliest. The intention is to increase production to twenty Superjets per year. There would be a market for at least 150 extra Superjets.

Because Russia can no longer import Western aircraft types due to the sanctions, the government wants to revive the production of civil aircraft. In addition to the SSJ-100 and the new MC-21, there are plans to resume series production of the Tupolev Tu-214 and Ilyushin Il-96.

Editor's note:

Superjets with the PD-8 engines would not be allowed in European airspace due to unacceptable noise levels.

--- DB4 - MidniteSpecial
* Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)