Russian Airlines Warn of SSJ 100 Fleet Reduction Without State Subsidies
2 sources · Latvia
Who reported this
- Meduza
- Novaya Gazeta Europe
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
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Aeroflot CEO Sergei Alexandrovsky stated that Russian airlines will gradually reduce their fleet of Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ 100) aircraft if the government does not provide subsidies to replace foreign engines with Russian ones. Following sanctions in 2022, the Russian French SaM 146 engines must be swapped for domestically produced PD 8 engines.
Reports from Kommersant estimate the cost of this replacement at 2.1 to 2.3 billion rubles per aircraft, though some industry sources suggest this figure is underestimated. There are also doubts regarding whether the United Engine Corporation can produce a sufficient number of engines. This contradicts a previous statement from Vadim Badekha, head of the United Aircraft Corporation, who indicated in 2026 that airlines would cover the costs themselves without budget funds.
Approximately 160 SSJ 100 aircraft remain in operation in Russia, with 78 belonging to Rossiya, a subsidiary of the Aeroflot Group. If subsidies are not provided, Aeroflot plans to offset the loss by redistributing flight hours across its remaining fleet and introducing new MS 21 aircraft. As of June 28, 130 out of 673 aircraft across 11 major Russian airlines were not in operation, representing 19.3 percent of the total fleet.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- Both outlets framed the situation as a critical operational risk driven by the financial and technical challenges of import substitution under sanctions.
Sources
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