Full support

Despite the aggravating economic problems, the Russian government seems to be keen on supporting the national civil aircraft industry, including its flagship product, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional jet manufactured by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC) in partnership with Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi. The SCAC’s debt burden has recently been mitigated by loans from state-owned banks. This will enable the manufacturer to continue deliveries to the existing customers and develop new SSJ 100 modification.

At the end of September, the supervisory board of the Russian state-owned bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) approved a loan worth 18 billion rubles (about $450 million) to its subsidiary lessor VEB-leasing in support of the delivery of 16 SSJ 100 airliners to Russian carriers. VEB Chairman Vladimir Dmitriev explained that most of these aircraft would go to the country’s flagship carrier Aeroflot. Earlier, Dmitriev acknowledged that the Ukraine-related sanctions imposed by the EU on a number of Russian financial institutions, including his bank, would negatively affect the Russian leasing market.