Sir - In the article "Kato launches Sirocco to lead R-R-powered Tu-204 effort", Dr Ibrahim Kamel, president of the newly formed Sirocco, is quoted as saying that the Tupolev Tu-224 (Western-powered Tu-204) will cost about $36 million. You then say that comparative "sticker" prices for the similarly sized Airbus A321-100 and Boeing 757-200 are $55 million and $60 million respectively.
I find this analogy misleading. The Tu-224 may look like the 757 and have a similar seating capacity to that of the A321, but, despite Rolls-Royce RB.211 engines and Western avionics, the Tu-224 falls into a different category.
In the Airliners of the World directory (Flight International, 4-10 December, 1996), 757 range is stated as 7,060km (3,820nm), with maximum payload; that of the A321-100 3,850km: while the Tu-224's range is only 2,500km. Fuel consumption per hour on the Russian airliner will also be much higher.
The Tu-224 may prove to have a market, but it is not in the category of the 757 or A321 in operational capabilities and, significantly, operating economics.
Dr A B MARGHANI
Air transport consultant
London, UK
Source: Flight International
