In order to increase sales of short-haul Sukhoi SuperJet 100 passenger aircraft, Russian government approved a number of measures aimed at supporting the project and lowering financial risks for the customers. In particular, the government plans to offer residual value guarantee (RVG) on new jets of the type; this move will allow offering competitive lease payments and thus increase the share of the Russian liner at the global market. In 2015 1 billion rubles will be allocated from the federal budget in order to implement the project, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) reports.
“The RVG fund will be formed on the basis of UAC’s subsidiary – UAC Capital, which is being registered now. The new structure will be funded using state subsidies. In 2015 1 billion rubles will be allocated from the federal budget for this project; in the course of the project’s implementation this figure should be increased. It is expected that the state support will be provided until 2025 (inclusive). RVG assumes compensation payment in case the jet’s market value at the time of selling the aircraft is lower than the estimated one (60% of the original price) at the time of signing the lease agreement. This cost difference will be compensated by the fund established on the basis of the UAC’s subsidiary upon expiration of the lease period,” the corporation’s press-service explained.
At the same time Yuri Slusar said during his first meeting with journalists as the UAC President that the corporation is going to expand the Superjet 100 Family by means of developing the liner’s business version. It was stated earlier by the Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov that the export capacity for this version of the jet at the Asian market is assessed at 8 – 10 ones per year. «Despite difficult economic situation, the forecast for the global aviation market is positive in terms of passenger traffic growth and demand for civil aircraft,» Yuri Slusar noted.
Today leasing is one of the most popular ways of selling aircraft, and the major criterion for air carriers is the amount of monthly lease payment. Under current economic conditions banks and lessors cannot calculate the residual value of an aircraft. The mechanism developed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade will guarantee a certain price for selling the aircraft in the aftermarket.
According to Yuri Slusar, this measure may turn out to be very efficient, because at present the demand for SSJ100’s rivals is, among other things, driven by the aftermarket. Using RVG should help decrease lease payments for air carriers and thus increase the competitive ability of the liner in the aftermarket. In order to strengthen its positions at the global market UAC keeps working on the new addition to its product line - Sukhoi Business Jet. According to UAC the SBJ production program may include production of several jets per year. Maximum number of delivered aircraft per year in the Large Corporate Aircraft segment, which also includes ACJ, BBJ and Lineage, is 23-28 jets per year, UAC added.
