Turkmenistan Airlines prefer Boeing to Russian versions (253 words)

Published: 2/28/2001

Tom Croslin, the 717s chief project engineer reports that the aircraft has been “certified for sale to operators in the CIS”; the relevant documents being presented to him by Anatoly Kruglov, Chairman of the MAK (Interstate Aviation Committee) Aviation Register and Yuri Kordyanin, Deputy Director of the Aviation Register of Ukraine (Ukraviatrans) on 20th February. Boeing's Moscow office has failed to explain what “certified for sale” means, for MAK Air Register has never before issued certificates with such wording. It is a timely certification, as Boeing has to deliver the first of three 110-seat 717-200 aircraft to Turkmenistan Airlines in July this year, in accordance with the agreement signed at Farnborough 2000. On the CIS market, the 717's only competitor in its class is the 90-seat Yak-42D90, which remains in low-rate production at the factory in Saratov. The Yak has two times higher fuel burn, better field performance, less advanced avionics and three/four times lower acquisition price. The 100-seat Tupolev/RSK MiG Tu-334, which is still in flight tests, promises to be less than half the cost of a Boeing, while offering similar performance. But its certification can at best be achieved in 2003. It seems, however, that the Turkmen airline is set to divest itself of Russian planes. At Farnborough, Ilyas Berdiev (Chief Executive of Turkmenistan Airlines) commented that the 717 had proved an excellent aircraft worthy of consideration as plans continue, to replace Russian-built aircraft with Boeing models.

Article ID: 2382