Speaking to Russian media, Mikhail Pogosyan promised to obtain Russian type certificate for his much delayed Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) twinjet by the end of January, adding one more hollow promise to the many he has made.

The backlog for the SSJ100 is claimed at 170 units, which includes the recent order from Interjet of Mexico. So-far largest buyers are Aeroflot with 30 units and Karika of Indonesia with the same quantity, followed by Avialeasing lessor with 24 airframes intended for UTair. The list also includes the troubled Finance Leasing (FLC) with the order for ten, Armavia with two and Phonsavangh of Laos with two. Respective sales were made directly by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC).

Besides, the Superjets are available from SuperJet International (SJI), a joint venture between Sukhoi and Alenia of Italy. This company has sold 30 aircraft to Pearl and 6 to Willis Lease, while 20 more orders claimed are not specified.

European carriers are not on the renewed list of sales albeit some of them had previously been. Italian carrier specializing on leisure travelers and charters, ItAli, signed for ten aircraft with option, then re-arranged the whole thing for six aircraft before cancelling its orders altogether. The Italian flag carrier Alitalia was once claimed by SCAC as customer, but chose to buy twenty Embaer E-series jets instead.

SCAC and SJI believe the sales will go up after the type certification is issued. In their turn, aviation experts fear that initial operations with Aeroflot may further harm the SSJ100 reputation due to inevitable teething problems and the policy of openness to the press that the Russian flag carrier has been carrying out for years. Aeroflot management has made it clear many times that they prefer western jets that are produced in large numbers, well known in destination airports all round the world and easy to maintain, as opposed to new home-grown airplanes with inherited disadvantages.