SINGAPORE, February 7. /TASS/. Russia’s Sukhoi Civil Aircraft has begun to design a smaller version of the Sukhoi Superjet-100 (SSJ-100) - 75 seats instead of 98, Alexander Rubtsov, President of the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, told reporters on the sidelines of the Singapore Air Show.
"We are launching a detailed study of possibility to create a 75-seater version of the aircraft based on the SSJ-100," he said adding that the new aircraft will be intended for regional transportations (1,500-2,000 km).
"We began to work on it just a few weeks ago, and hope that this aircraft will indeed be in demand on the market. We do expect it to be lighter and more cost-efficient."
In an interview with TASS Rubtsov said that this new aircraft may enter the market in 2022. "It is expected to enter the market approximately in 2022," he said.
For the first time the company unveiled its plan to design such aircraft in late 2017.
The president of the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft told reporters that the company’s designers are considering an option to change the engine on the aircraft (now it is equipped with the Russian-French SaM-146).
"We are considering two main engine options - one that is, well, we are looking at new engine designs that are on the market - domestic engines and those that we can buy on foreign markets," Rubtsov said.
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a modern fly-by-wire twin engine regional jet. The airliner was designed and spearheaded by Sukhoi, a division of the Russian civil aerospace company (UAC). Its maiden flight was conducted on 19 May 2008. Commercial passenger flights began in 2011. The flight range of the basic version is 4,400 km, capacity - 98 passengers. Airline companies of Mexico and Ireland have SSJ-100 in their fleets. In Russia, national carrier Aeroflot is the largest operator of this aircraft.