Paul Duffy/MOSCOW
Sirocco Aerospace International has been launched in Moscow by Egypt's Kato Aromatic and its partners, to spearhead marketing for the re-engined Tupolev Tu-204-120. A list price for the aircraft, which is powered by Rolls-Royce RB.211-535s, has been set at around $36 million.
The new company, which was presented to Russian airlines on 9-10 December, is a joint venture between Kato, design bureau Tupolev, aircraft manufacturer Aviastar and the CIS aerospace marketing operation Aviaexport.
Although the company is mainly offering the aircraft on operating lease, outright sales are also available, says Gerry Connolly of the UK-based Finavia aviation consultancy, who is directing the Sirocco project. He quotes the rate for the standard aircraft at $320,000 a month on a typical five-year lease, with a "power-by-the-hour" rate of $125 per engine and another $112.5 for the airframe undercarriage and auxiliary power unit.
Kato's chairman, Egyptian industrialist Ibrahim Kamet, who now heads Sirocco, says that the aircraft will be available for sale for around $36 million. Comparative "sticker" prices for the similarly sized Airbus A321-100 and Boeing 757-200 are $55 million and $60 million, respectively.
The initial deal concluded by Kato in August (Flight International 4-10 September, P8) included deposits on 30 aircraft, and an order with R-R for a similar number of RB.211 ship sets. R-R has guaranteed delivery of 13 RB.211-sets to cover the first year's deliveries. Kato has selected a mix of AlliedSignal and Honeywell avionics, with the former supplying the auxiliary power unit.
Certification of the RB.211-powered Tu-204 is now proceeding satisfactorily, claims Valentin Sushko, director of the MAK's Avia Register, after earlier delays caused by funding shortages. Russian approval is targeted for March 1997, with the delivery of the first R-R-powered Tu-204 to Sirocco, following in May 1997. A second aircraft will be handed over in July, and the rate will increase from an initial one per month to two by the end of the year. A maximum rate of five a month is envisaged eventually.
Meanwhile, Aeroflot Russian International Airlines (ARIA) has begun disposing of its Perm PS-90-powered Tu-204C freighters, apparently because of the continuing difficulties with the reliability of the Russian engines. ARIA, however, is examining the R-R-powered version, and has held detailed discussions with Sirocco.
The first of three Tu-204Cs, an ex-ARIA aircraft, has been delivered to Vnukovo Airlines, and the carrier is holding discussions with Aviastar on the acquisition of a passenger version, which is stored at Aviastar's Ulyanovosk plant. Another new Tu-204 operator, Perm Airlines, has introduced a single PS-90-powered aircraft in a deal brokered by the engine manufacturer Aviadvigatel/Perm Motors. The aircraft was exchanged by Aviastar for PS-90 engines, and is being leased from the engine manufacturer to Perm.
Source: Flight International
