Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW
STRUGGLING RUSSIAN aircraft manufacturer Aviastar is pushing for $30 million in Government guarantees in an attempt to keep alive the deal with Egyptian company Kato Group for the delivery of five Tupolev Tu-204 airliners.
The Ulyanovsk-based manufacturing plant, which is responsible for production of the Tu-204 and Antonov An-124, is at a standstill, and general manager Victor Mikhailov says that state guarantees for the deal are necessary to restart production.
Kato announced an order for 13 Tu-204s, plus options on a further 17, in August, and it plans eventually to receive as many as 200 aircraft. The company has ordered the Rolls-Royce RB.211-535E4-powered version, equipped with Rockwell-Collins avionics, which it plans to lease to operators in the CIS and other Eastern Europe countries (Flight International, 4-10, September, P8).
Work at Aviastar has been at a standstill since 21 August, with all the employees on compulsory unpaid leave until 1 November. Ulyanovsk governor Yuriy Goryachev had a special meeting in mid-October with prime minister Chernomyrdin and minister of finance Alexander Lifshits to discuss the situation.
Russia's ministry of finance has so far been reluctant to approve the guarantees.
This reluctance is caused partly by the Russian Aviation Consortium's (RAC's) opposition to the deal. The consortium, which includes Aviastar, NPTs (Scientific Production Centre), Perm Motors, Promstroi Bank, Tupolev and Universal, was established specifically to market Tu-204 and other Tupolev aircraft.
The RAC's general director, Tatevos Surinov, wants Government guarantees for customers negotiating for Tu-204 contracts with the consortium, such as Balkan Bulgarian and Vnukovo Airlines. Paradoxically, since the Kato order was signed, Mikhailov has become chairman of the RAC board of directors.
Kato's agreement with Aviastar and Tupolev gives it exclusive rights to market the R-R-powered Tu-204 worldwide for the next five years. Yuriy Rostovtsev, Tu-204 project manager at Aviaexport, is reported to have said recently that no firm orders for the Tu-204 have yet been secured.
Meanwhile, several Russian airlines are planning Tu-204 acquisitions. A Tu-204C freighter is being equipped with Rolls-Royce engines at Aviastar for delivery to Volga-Dnepr.
Khabarovsk Airlines had intended to take three aircraft, but there are questions as to whether it can complete the deal. Kras Air has been reported to be interested in acquiring ten Tu-204s.
Source: Flight International
