First Delivery In A 98-seat Configuration Is Scheduled For September 2012

U.S. aircraft leasing company Willis Lease Finance Corporation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SuperJet International for the purchase of 6 Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) aircraft plus 4 options. The deal is reportedly worth an estimated $300 million. The first delivery of these aircraft in the 98-seat configuration is scheduled for September 2012.

Sukhoi Superjet 100

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 program represents the most important industrial partnership between Europe and the Russian Federation in the civil aviation sector. Alenia Aeronautica owns 25 percent plus one share of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, the Sukhoi unit developing the jet, as well as 51 percent of Superjet International, which is handling its sales. The remainder of Superjet International is controlled by Sukhoi.

The jet, which has 98 seats, was developed to compete with Brazil's Embraer and Canada's Bombardier on the regional air transportation market. The companies involved hope the airplane can serve as a catalyst to start to rebuild the Russian aviation sector, which has been in decline since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

FMI: www.sukhoi.com, www.alenia-aeronautica.it