Production of the Tupolev Tu-154M tri-jet will cease by 2002, as the assembly plant in Samara attempts to boost its revenues through a reorganisation of its activities.
The ageing tri-jet design has been in production since 1968, with over 900 built to date. Output at the Aviakor plant in Samara has been running at a trickle and the plant's general director Viktor Petrishchev has been quoted as saying that production will finish by the end of next year. The plant, which will assemble 12 more tri-jets, has been concentrating on maintenance for Tu-154s in service and spares production.
Petrishchev says after-market services have not been generating sufficient revenue. He hopes fortunes will improve with production of new aircraft - the Antonov An-140 regional turboprop and the An-70 military transport - at Samara and planned component production for Airbus Industrie.
The new aircraft projects are being undertaken with Aviakor's Ukrainian partners ANTK Antonov and Motor Sich, and the Kharkov aviation plant.
Source: Flight International
