Market entry of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 appears to be slipping towards the third quarter of 2010 because of delays in commencing serial production of the PowerJet SaM146 engine.
Sukhoi says its revised schedule to deliver the first Superjet examples to launch customers Aeroflot and Armavia, to be released over the next week, hinges on the supply of serially-built powerplants.
Sources at Sukhoi have expressed doubts that engines to equip first serial Superjets could be shipped sooner than July.
Russian industry and trade minister Viktor Khristenko has indicated that training of pilots for the new type should begin in the spring ahead of the Superjet's entry into commercial service, due to take place by the middle of 2010.
State Duma transport committee member Anatoly Lisitsyn expects Rybinsk-based NPO Saturn, a partner in PowerJet, to begin producing SaM146s in summer and build about 15 of them next year.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
