VEB.RF took a wing – Newspaper Kommersant No. 51 (7496) dated 03/27/2023

As it became known to Kommersant, VEB.RF restored one of the six SSJ-100 aircraft that the Irish CityJet returned to it four years ago. The state corporation, according to Kommersant, transferred the aircraft to the management of Azimuth Airlines. VEB.RF plans to convert SSJ to a VIP version for its own needs, but so far the process has been delayed. Irkut offered to buy the remaining five aircraft – there are still people on the market who want to get aircraft. But negotiations have ceased, although the airlines confirm their interest in the SSJ.

Sources of Kommersant in the aviation market said that the state corporation VEB.RF restored the airworthiness of one of the six SSJ-100s, which were abandoned in 2019 by the only European operator of this type of aircraft, the Irish airline CityJet. The carrier ordered 15 SSJ-100s in 2015, but, having received seven vehicles, abandoned the project due to maintenance problems and a lack of spare parts. The status of the seventh aircraft is unknown.

VEB.RF, according to Kommersant’s interlocutors in the industry, plans to upgrade the restored board to a VIP version, but has encountered difficulties. The holder of an additional type certificate, according to which passenger seats are installed under the CityJet (Supplemental Type Certificate, STC), issued by EASA, according to Kommersant’s sources, remains a foreign legal entity. And it is impossible to make changes through the Federal Air Transport Agency in such a document.

Prior to solving problems with documents, VEB.RF transferred the aircraft to the commercial management of Azimut Airlines. It became the nineteenth SSJ in the carrier’s mono-fleet. According to Flightradar24, the aircraft began operating scheduled flights in December. But the board will not be repainted in the Azimuth livery. According to Kommersant’s information, the company will continue to operate the SSJ in the interests of VEB.RF after it has been converted into a business jet. Azimuth and VEB.RF declined to comment.

The SSJ manufacturer, which is part of the Irkut United Aircraft Corporation, did not answer Kommersant’s questions. But back in 2021, the manufacturer offered the corporation to buy back six aircraft that belonged to RJ Leasing Ltd, which was then specially created for the deal with CityJet, and financed by VEB.RF.

According to Kommersant’s interlocutors in the market, Irkut intended to restore the aircraft’s airworthiness and hand them over to the companies operating SSJs. The inclusion of these aircraft in the Russian aircraft leasing program was also considered. However, one of Kommersant’s sources clarifies that VEB.RF “showed no interest in the deal.”

Another interlocutor of Kommersant in the industry claims that “the issue was not important for the state corporation.” Now, the source of Kommersant is sure, the planes are no longer subject to restoration, since “they have not been supported for these four years, and too much resources will be required to carry out all the necessary forms of maintenance.”

VEB.RF, according to Kommersant’s sources, withdrew from the dialogue about the fate of SSJ back in 2022. Meanwhile, they say in one of the major airlines, the cars could be of interest to carriers with a small fleet for regional or foreign flights.

Sources in at least two airlines say that they would “consider such a proposal, provided that the cost is adequate and the manufacturer is willing to guarantee the airworthiness support” of the aircraft: “The question is the price of taking the aircraft out of mothballing.”

For what purposes the state corporation itself plans to use SSJ, VEB.RF did not answer. According to a Kommersant source on the market, the aircraft can become “a help for flights abroad under the sanctions.”

Jet24 Managing Director Pavel Zakharov notes that the conversion of the passenger cabin to the VIP version may take at least a year, depending on the load of contractors and the timing of the search for materials. The expert believes that charter corporate flights can become a more rational option for using the aircraft.

According to Kommersant’s sources, back in 2021, the possibility of creating “an analogue of the Rossiya special flight detachment” on the basis of six aircraft returned from Ireland was discussed, but then it was frozen.

According to Mr. Zakharov, under the current conditions, SSJ will be “more in demand” for actual mainline passenger traffic than for flights of individual officials and businessmen, “taking into account the nuances of service and in view of the potential disposal of carrying capacities.”

Aigul Abdullina