25 September 2018, Moscow — Aeroflot has taken delivery of its 50th Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ 100), marking the successful completion of two firm orders for 30 and 20 of the aircraft. The 50th aircraft has the registration number RA-89115, and is named for the Russian painter Vasily Polenov.
The official presentation of the new aircraft took place today at Sheremetyevo airport, with senior management from Aeroflot and United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) participating.
Vitaly Saveliev, CEO of Aeroflot, said:
“Aeroflot is pleased to welcome its 50th Superjet 100. Earlier this month, at the Eastern Economic Forum, we signed a major aircraft delivery agreement to receive 100 more modern Russian-built SSJ100 aircraft, with President Putin present for the signing ceremony.
“This agreement will bring the total number of Russian-built aircraft in Aeroflot’s fleet to 200, 50 of which will be the innovative MC-21.
“I would especially like to thank the management and all employees of United Aircraft Corporation involved in this project for their work. Aeroflot has worked with Sukhoi Civil Aircraft to develop a completely new aircraft, and has launched the plane into the air and refined it further during commercial operation.”
Yury Slyusar, President of PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), said:
“UAC and Aeroflot have been working together for many years now. As the first customer and operator of the largest fleet of SSJ100, Aeroflot has made a significant contribution to the development of Russian aircraft industry. The completion of this latest delivery contract for 50 SSJ100 aircraft is a significant landmark in our partnership, and the newly signed agreements for more SSJ100 and MC-21 aircraft offer new opportunities for further cooperation.”
Alexander Rubtsov, President of JSC Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC), said:
“The partnership between SCAC and Russia’s flag carrier is an invaluable experience that is particularly important to us as we launch a new aircraft. Aeroflot has made a significant contribution to the development of the SSJ100 project. Further cooperation with Aeroflot and the airline’s plans to further expand its fleet of SSJ100 aircraft represent a positive assessment of our work and a sign that we are on the right track. We value our partnership to improve the SSJ100 further, and are working hard to build up our inventory of aircraft components in order to improve our after-sales service offering.”
The Russian-built SSJ100 is configured with 12 seats in business class and 75 seats in economy class. The new aircraft will operate its first flight on Aeroflot’s route from Moscow to Sochi and Simferopol tomorrow.
The first agreement with Aeroflot for 30 aircraft was signed on 7 December, 2005. The maiden flight of Aeroflot’s first SSJ100 Aeroflot fleet took place in June 2011, and in 2016 Aeroflot and Sukhoi Civil Aircraft announced this current contract. On 18 July 2017, the second contract for 20 SSJ100 aircraft was signed. On 10 September 2018, Aeroflot signed an agreement for another 100 SSJ100 aircraft, which will join the airline’s fleet by 2026.
Today, SSJ100 operate on routes to Belgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Orenburg, Perm, Saratov, Sochi, Syktyvkar, Tyumen, Chelyabinsk and other cities. SSJ100 aircraft also fly to international destinations including Dresden, Vilnius, Gothenburg, Bucharest, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Riga, Sofia and Tivat.
Vasily Polenov is an outstanding artist who revealed the world of the traditional Russian farmstead and the mystery of the charming beauty of the Russian landscape. His most famous paintings are ‘Moscow Courtyard’, ‘Overgrown Pond’ and ‘The River Oka in Flood’. The works of Vasily Polenov depict Russian nature with its boundless fields, forests and mighty rivers. Vasily Polenov devoted particular attention to children, and opened an art gallery and an art school for children on his own estate.