According to general director of Sheremetyevo airport Mikhail Vasilenko who spoke to Russia’s president past week, Dmitry Medvedev expressed doubts whether aging Tupolev Tu-154B-2 narrow body jetliners should continue in revenue service.
In his turn Vasilenko called Tu-154B-2 a reliable workhorse that has been serving the passengers well for over 40 years. But now this machine does not withstand competition with more advanced Airbus and Boeing designs, and does not come close to them in terms of safety equipment, noise levels and passenger comfort. Besides, high fuel burn makes Tu-154B-2 too expensive to operate.
Russia’s largest carriers, Aeroflot, S7 (Sibir) and GTK Rossiya have withdrawn their Tu-154s and replaced them by western narrow body aircraft. Vasilenko carried on saying that investment into fleet renovation and acquisition of modern airplanes is high but completely justified by the economics of airline operations.
Imposing a ban on Tu-154 operations would render “a big blow” to small airlines that operate out of the provincial airports and still rely on that type. Some of them run a Tupolev-only fleet. These small airlines may not be able to raise sufficient funding for fleet renewal. “We must consider this when thinking of further development of the hub-and-spoke system in Russia”, Vasilenko says.
Meantime, the passenger numbers have been rising and gradually approaching the records achieved back in the time of the Soviet Union. The air transport industry becomes attractive for investors. This makes it possible to help the airlines renovate their fleets and help recovery of the Russian aircraft manufacturers. The passengers will benefit from lower air fares, and airlines from operating safe and economically viable aircraft. “Therefore, it is extremely important that the Sukhoi Superjet 100, a new passenger jet from the famous manufacturer, enters massive production this year, and that the financial institutions offer domestic airlines convenient financial packages for fleet renovation”, Vasilenko concluded.