In the spring of this year, an important jubilee passed almost unnoticed - 10 years since the first flight of the Russian passenger Sukhoi Superjet 100. This aircraft was the first serious development of domestic aircraft manufacturers since the collapse of the Soviet Union, hopes for the revival of a once-powerful industry were associated with it. However, today - 7 years after the start of operation of this liner - we can confidently say that, unfortunately, they were not justified. Complaints against him do not stop, however, most of them are not related to the machine itself.
The current situation with the "Superjet", as well as possible prospects for the SSJ100, was analyzed by journalists from the authoritative German edition of Deutsche Welle.
Why do air carriers refuse Superjet?
A few days ago, the leadership of the Russian airline Yakutia officially announced that it was seriously considering the possibility of completely abandoning the Sukhoi Superjet 100 because of the “critical mass of problems”. According to one of the directors of Yakutia, because of the significant number of faulty airplanes of this type, they practically “failed the summer”.
Previously, there were reports from two foreign companies operating SSJ100: Interjet and Brussels Airlines. According to representatives of the latter, "Superjet", in principle, a good plane, but the huge problems with spare parts make its operation almost impossible.
Similar difficulties arose in the Mexican Interjet, which at one time acquired 22 SSJ100. According to the reports of FlightGlobal, the air carrier had to resort to "technical cannibalism": four airliners turned into a source of spare parts for their fellows. Another edition - Aerotelegraph - reports that the Russian manufacturer was forced to pay $ 40 million to Interjet forfeit due to problems with the supply of spare parts.
What is dissatisfied with "Yakutia" or childhood diseases SSJ100
The Russian airline has other problems: most of its Superjet do not fly due to engine problems. Moreover, it is necessary to solve them with the direct manufacturer of engines, with the company Powerjet. There are other technical flaws. For example, in the winter of this year, the "Superjet" had speed sensor failures, and earlier there were reports of defects in the tail section of the liner.
It was because of technical problems that the Russian airline Red Wings refused to use the Superjet back in 2016. Currently, of all the aircraft built, only 65% of the machines are serviceable.
The designers did everything right
However, despite the above complaints from operators, most of the industry experts assess the quality of the “Superjet” quite high and note that the main problem of this project is not in the technical parameters of the liner. “Actually, the plane is good, I have known it for a long time - from the moment it appeared. This is not the aircraft industry crown, but this is quite a modern aircraft,” said aviation expert and former pilot Ulrich Unger in a conversation with journalists.
The main problem of the "Superjet" is the extremely low level of after-sales service. Airlines simply do not need a reliable aircraft at an affordable price - they are interested in the full "life" cycle of the car. The manufacturer must not only release the airliner, but also provide it with spare parts, learn pilots and technicians, and also carry out repairs, if necessary. The downtime associated with the lack of spare parts cost carriers very expensive, and no one will put up with this state of affairs.
However, apparently, the manufacturing company has already cooled to its brainchild. The GSS (“Sukhoi Civil Aircraft”) planned to launch 60 “Superjets” in 2013, but they could not accomplish this task. Only in this case, the project would come to payback. Based on the latest statements of the GSS leadership, it can be concluded that the SSJ100 is not planned to increase production, now the company has set its sights on another project - the production of the medium-haul airliner MS-21.
