Russia’s United Aircraft Holding intends to build a new 130-140 seat airliner which should appear on the market by 2016-2020, UAC’s president Mikhail Pogosyan said at an air transport forum in Russia’s Ulyanovsk on Thursday.
“We don’t want to make two steps on the basis of an existing aircraft – this will be a new plane with very high parameters,” he said.
The new plane will occupy a market segment between the new regional 110-115 seat Sukhoi Superjet (SSJ) and the forthcoming 150-200 seat MS-21 medium-haul airliner, he said.
It will use leading-edge technology used in the development of these two aircraft, he said. “As a result, we consider this program could be realised in a much shorter timeframe and with a high degree of unity with the MS-21, and using the experience of creating the SSJ,” Pogosyan said.
UAC thinks there could be a market for 800 SSJ series airliners and 300-400 of the new intermediate 140-seat airliners, he added.