Russia's New MC-21 Airliner Has 175 Pre-paid Orders Worth $15 Billion

Russia's MC-21 airliner which marked its first flight on Sunday could be sitting on orders worth US$15.7 billion with 175 firm orders at US$90 million apiece.

Sergey Chemezov, CEO of Rostec, said during the Russian airliner MC-21’s first flight ceremony Monday:  “We are the first and currently the largest client for МС-21 airliners, we signed a firm contract for 85 airliners. Our subsidiary Avia Capital Services has already signed an agreement to purchase a batch of 50 МС-21 airliners for Aeroflot”.

Russian delegates also stressed that the global demand for the MC-21 commercial airliner will rise in the next decade. Yury Slyusar, the President of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said, “According to our estimates, the global demand in the MC-21 segment will be about 15,000 new aircraft in the next 20 years. I'm sure the airlines will appreciate our new aircraft”.

Russia reached a milestone Monday as its new commercial airliner MC-21-300 made its maiden flight at the airfield of Irkutsk Aviation Plant on May 28. The duration of the flight was 30 minutes at the altitude of 1000 meters, at the speed of 300 km/hour.

The airliner is intended for the biggest air transportation market segment, its capacity is 163-211 seats.

Irkut Corporation claims that the estimated reduction of direct operating costs during МС-21 operation compared to counterparts will amount to 12-15%. The initial firm order portfolio for 175 МС-21 airliners ensures production capacity utilization in the coming years, it states.