Aeroflot's first Superjet during her delivery flight.
Russian airline Aeroflot has taken delivery of their first Sukhoi Superjet 100. They become the second airline to operate the Superjet 100 after Armavia, which has been flying the aircraft since April 19th.
The airline plans to enter the aircraft into service between Moscow and St. Petersburg starting today and Aeroflot is scheduled to receive 10 Superjets in 2011, 12 in 2012 and eight in 2013.
The Superjet 100 is a 75-95 seat regional airliner made by the Russian manufacturer Sukhoi. It is intended to replace older TU-134s and Yakovlev Yak-42s. A collection of Russian companies have come together to develope and produce the new aircraft. It is being reported that Sukhoi is looking at the possibility of creating a larger version that could hold 100-130 passengers and at creating a corporate version of the Superjet.
So far, all the news about the aircraft has not been positive. According to Epress.am, a Moscow-based blogger has reported that there are some serious quality issues with the interior of Armavia’s Superjet. He has taken a few flights and was shocked to see the condition of the interior and had difficult time getting photos to show proof.
’œI soon realized why the crew was so concerned about taking photographs on board. The brand new airplane was falling apart. Despite the fact that it’s been less than a month that the airplane has been carrying out regular flights, the interior was in a deplorable state. The hatches either couldn’t fit or didn’t hold the oxygen masks [it was supposed to hold].
Hopefully these are just a few signs of a new aircraft that might not have had all the bugs worked out before delivery. A few interior panels not fitting is a much different issue than the condition of the mechanics or the fuselage which so far have had no reported issues.
Image: Vasily Kuznetsov
If this relatively new jet’s interior is already “falling apart,” that can’t be reassuring for passengers’ perception of areas that they can’t see.
“If it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going.” …..and this article points out a good reason why.