Leasing terms for new Russian aircraft may be revised in 2025 - industry and trade minister

MOSCOW. Nov 18 (Interfax) - Leasing rates for new Russian aircraft may be revised following the start of their certification flights, tentatively scheduled for the first half of 2025, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov said.

"I think we can only discuss a specific revision after the certification flights begin. Once we finalize the aircraft's design and determine its price at least for the current stage, we can based on this consider adjusting the terms of future contracts," Alikhanov told reporters. "I believe [this will happen] in the first half of next year," he said.

When asked if adjusting the leasing rate implied an increase, Alikhanov said, "How we do it will be decided in collaboration with the Transport Ministry."

Previously, Alikhanov said that the Industry and Trade Ministry supports revising the terms of aviation leasing subsidies in Russia, as the current conditions fail to generate profits for the aviation manufacturing industry. Existing leasing contracts create "profit centers for commercial banks, airlines, and cooperative suppliers," while aviation manufacturers consistently operate at a loss, requiring a constant search for additional funding to cover price differences, he said.

Commenting on the ministry's initiative, Sergei Chemezov, the head of Rostec, which unites aviation industry enterprises, said that the profitability of aircraft deliveries for manufacturers needs to be raised. The resulting profits should support not only operational activities but also research and development, he said.

It is planned that the first test flight of the fully import-substituted medium-haul MC-21 aircraft will take place by the end of 2024, the former head of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of Rostec) Yury Slyusar said. Slyusar left this position in early November. Flight tests of the short-haul SJ-100 aircraft with Franco-Russian SaM146 engines began in June 2024. Certification of the domestically produced PD-8 engines for the SJ-100 will commence in early 2025 and is expected to be completed by the end of that year, Alikhanov said.

Plans for civil aircraft production in Russia are set out in the comprehensive aviation industry development program. The current version aims for the production of 994 civil aircraft by 2030. At the start of serial production, the gap between an aircraft's commercial price and its actual cost is expected to be covered by the budget. For example, the cost of the MC-21 in 2024 was previously estimated at 6.9 billion rubles, with a directive price of 3.1 billion rubles (55% covered by subsidies). For the SJ-100, the respective figures were 4.8 billion rubles and 2.4 billion rubles (51%), and for the Tu-214, 5.4 billion rubles and 3.1 billion rubles (42%).