Protocol for Il-96 T/M signed, FAA type certificate announcement expected at Paris Air Show

Published: 6/10/1999

It appears that the protocol finally enabling the Il-96 T/M to receive the FAA type certificate was signed at the end of last week, and the certification will probably be announced at next week"s Paris Air Show. This is still, by no means, the end of the aircraft"s saga, for the following reasons: - In order to operate from a base outside of Russia, the aircraft still requires an airworthiness certificate. This has been described by one commentator close to the project as a “ formidable undertaking “ which Ilyushin is currently ill-equipped to address. - Leasing the aircraft under Russian registration remains an “adventurous" proposition for those looking at the risk, according to those have reviewed the viability of the financing of such a project. Onshore leasing for the aircraft poses almost insurmountable legal and tax problems in the current environment. - Who is going to buy it? Aeroflot is still keeping a low profile as the launch customer and currently has its own aircraft capacity problems in the very quiet Russian market. It also continues to reaffirm that it is a “ commercial “ enterprise, suggesting that any acquisition would be on its own merits i.e. the attractiveness of financing . With the Paris air show approaching, much, no doubt, will be made of the project. This should not disguise the reality that most of those involved, including, according to reports, the ever-patient Pratt & Whitney, would like it to die quietly, now that it has achieved its objective of giving them access to Russia. So far, no one has proved able to finance the construction and operation of the aircraft on anything approaching a seriously viable basis. The operate-and-finance schemes are, in the main, unworkable. They require the manufacturer and the major suppliers to provide the lease by another name, which they are unable or unwilling to do, particularly without both the active moral and financial support of the state. Other schemes involving using one aircraft delivered so it will finance the next are good for the suppliers, but require a credible and patient provider of working capital: a role in which few have taken an interest since the crisis last year. The project has however, enormous political profile both in Moscow and in Washington. Any declaration of its demise may prove premature.

Article ID: 577