S7 won't get 75-seat Sukhoi Superjet due to Industry and Trade Ministry's rejection of project - paper
MOSCOW. Sept 3 (Interfax) - The S7 Group will not get the 75-seat Sukhoi Superjets it ordered from Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (SCA) in April 2018 since the Industry and Trade Ministry has decided not to develop the plane, Vladislav Filev, told Vedomosti.
"I was at a meeting on the development of regional aviation two weeks ago, and one of the heads of the Industry and Trade Ministry reported that it had been decided not to make the 75-seat Sukhoi SuperJet since there wasn't demand for it. Their main customer is Aeroflot , and it's taking a 100-seater," Filev said.
Another participant in the meeting said that that report came from Deputy Minister Oleg Bocharov. A source close to the United Aircraft Corporation confirmed that the SSJ-75 will not be developed.
Filev believes that the reason for the rejection was S7's requirement that its specialists be allowed to participate in tests of the plane and monitor compliance with airworthiness standards. S7's technical requirements were to redesign the landing-gear well and replace the composite section of the floor of the passenger cabin. The SSJ-100 accident on May 5 showed that this composite does not withstand temperatures of 240 degrees Celsius, which is an international requirement, Filev said.