The ceremony of the first Russian regional passenger jet’s delivery to Armavia, the jet’s launch customer, has taken place at the Zvartnots airport of Yerevan today. AEX.ru

The liner with serial number SN 95007 has arrived from Sukhoi’s site in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. It is the first of two Superjets ordered by the airline on September 14th 2007. The first Russian serial Superjet has been named after Yuri Gagarin. The jet has received an Armenian registration number EK 95015.

«The delivery of first Russian serial jet is the key step in Sukhoi SuperJet-100 project realization. Today’s event opens a new stage of the program development – the beginning of commercial operation and full-scale production. I am sure that Armavia will appreciate our jet and our partners from SuperJet International will provide the Armenian national carrier with comprehensive support at the stage of putting the jet into operation and also provide a qualitative and well-timed post-sales support», - said Mikhail Pogosyan, CEO of Sukhoi and the president of UAC.

UAC plans to deliver 14 Superjets this year. Among the customers are Armavia, Aeroflot and Yakutia.

«We thank everyone for this jet’s production. I think it is a very important step in development of Russian aircraft industry, since it’s the first serial jet produced in the modern Russia in cooperation with world’s aircraft industry leaders. We congratulate everyone!», - said the Armavia’s owner, Mikhail Bagdasarov.

Armavia plans to use Sukhoi SuperJet 100 for flights to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi and Ukraine.

The regional jet Sukhoi SuperJet 100 (SSJ-100) is able to carry up to 100. The first SSJ-100 has been presented on September 26th 2007 at company’s site in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, and its maiden flight has been performed on May 19th 2008. SSJ-100 has received the AR IAC certificate on February 3rd 2011. The jet is going to receive EASA certificate this year. The company’s firm order backlog includes 170 SSJ-100s. It is planned to manufacture 14 jets this year, 25 jets in 2012, and increase the jet’s production up to 60-70 aircrafts per year in future.

The jet’s maximum cruise speed is 0.81 M, cruising altitude – 40000ft. The length of run for the jet’s basic version is 1731 m and 2052 m for the version with extended range. The basic version’s range is 3048 km, the extended range versions – 4578 km.

The liner has been developed by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft in cooperation with several foreign companies. The project’s strategic partner is – Alenia Aeronautica.

The question of model lineup expansion with 115-120-seated SSJ100 is being discussed at the moment.