Aeroflot CEO Warns of Possible Scrapping of the SSJ-100
Russian airlines may begin to lose their SSJ-100 aircraft due to a lack of government funding to replace foreign engines with Russian ones. This was stated by Aeroflot CEO Sergey Aleksandrovsky.
According to him, Russian carriers will not be able to install domestically produced engines on the SSJ-100 on their own. This requires certain forms of government support.
“If there are no subsidies for re-engining, there will be a gradual phase-out of the fleet by all companies operating the SSJ-100,” Aleksandrovsky said in a comment to Kommersant.
He did not specify how much funding from the Russian budget would be required to replace the engines. At the same time, the head of Aeroflot noted that the aircraft being phased out will have to be compensated for by redistributing flight hours to other aircraft and using new MC-21 aircraft.
The Russian aviation industry has been discussing the financing and economic feasibility of replacing the SSJ-100 engines since 2022. At that time, the French company Safran, which was responsible for servicing and manufacturing parts for the hot section of the SaM-146 engine, ceased its participation in the joint venture with the United Engine Corporation of the Russian Federation.
The SaM-146 engines were installed on the SSJ-100 as part of a Russian-French project. After the cooperation ended, Moscow began relying on its own PD-8 engine as a replacement.
According to sources cited by Kommersant, the cost of replacing a single set of SaM-146 engines with Russian PD-8 engines was estimated at 2.1–2.3 billion rubles per aircraft.
Thus, without government subsidies, Russian airlines may face not only problems maintaining the SSJ-100 but also a gradual reduction in the number of such aircraft in their fleets.
See also:
Drones Attacked Sochi: Over 100 Flights Canceled or Delayed at the Airport
In Sochi, Russia, an attack by drones on the seaport was reported. Local residents reported loud explosions in the city center, after which people were urged to leave the port area.
On the night of September 2, the Moscow Region of Russia came under a massive drone attack. According to the region’s governor, Andrei Vorobyov, Russian air defense forces allegedly shot down 56 drones over the region.
