An Aeroflot Superjet – Photo: SuperJet International
Many people seem to think that Aeroflot is the same beastly monolith that it was before, and immediately after, the collapse of the Soviet Union. Aeroflot is still the butt of jokes the world over. Regardless of the ill-informed jabs, what’s so bad about the Aeroflot?
The more I read online, the more I realize many people think all Russian planes look like this Bartini Beriev VVA-14, and are full of goats – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter
I get it; Aeroflot had a very bad reputation within the past few decades (let’s say about 1983-1995), but that was over 20 years ago. Aeroflot is by far playing in the big leagues now, in terms of safety, comfort, service, and median fleet age.
See, I never understood all of that either nationalist chauvinism or cultural cringe. I’ve wanted to fly Aeroflot since I was a child.
Sukhoi Superjet in Sky Aviation livery (PK-ECN) – Photo: Jacob Pfleger | AirlineReporter
I was able to take a tour of a Sukhoi Superjet at the Singapore Airshow and am sharing the photos with AirlineReporter readers!
The aircraft, parked next to a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, was in Sky Aviation livery – an airline based predominantly in Surabaya Indonesia that operates a full-service product, including business class.
This was my first time on an operational Russian commercial airliner and I was pleasantly surprised that the interior was similar to an Embraer E-Jet, although it is considerably wider and the overhead space is greater.
The flight deck was also surprisingly roomy, as were the lavs and galley areas. The configuration in business is set up 2-2, while economy is 2-3. I found that the seat pitch in business was sufficient, but economy was a bit of a challenge.
Yesterday, Jon Ostrower via his Flight Blogger site posted some pretty sweet photos of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 in Aeroflot livery and I wanted to share as well.
The Superjet is a new regional jet that will compete in the 75-100 seat market. The aircraft saw its first flight on May 19, 2008, but still has not made their first delivery. Last I heard and still according to their website, they were expecting to deliver the first aircraft during the fourth quarter of 2010. However Ostrower is reporting that the airliner is expected to earn Russian certification by the end of this month and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification in 2012. The Superjet has almost 200 orders and the first will be delivered to Aeroflot Armavia (updated: first two go to Armavia, then Aeroflot will get their first)
Recently Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin put pressure on Aeroflot and their subsidiaries to purchase more Russian-built aircraft to help with their fleet modernization versus Airbus and Boeing. Currently Aeroflot has 40 Superjets on order with an option for 15 additional.
You can view more photos of the Superjet 100 via Sukhoi’s Flickr page.
Sukoi Superjet 100. Pic from sukhoi.org
Jon Ostrower from FlightBlogger is over at the Paris Air Show and has been doing a great job covering it. Today he posted a video showing the new Sukhoi Superjet.
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 can hold 75-95 passengers and is scheduled to start deliveries in the third quarter of 2009. Armenian Armanvia will receive the first planes, followed by Aeroflot. The Flightblogger reports that there are an additional 24 orders from Avia Leasing and another 30 for Malev in Hungary. As of June 2009 there are 124 confirmed orders and an additional 99 options by 11 airlines/leasing companies.
Even though most of the attention is given to the Boeing vs Airbus battle, there are quite a few other aircraft choices out there, other than the two main players. The Airline Blog will be reporting more on other aircraft manufacturers this summer.
See More: Video – Sukoi.org
