The upgraded Tupolev Tu-204SM airliner prototype powered by advanced PS-90A2 engines co-developed by the Aviadvigatel joint stock company and Pratt & Whitney and manufactured by the Perm Engine Company was unveiled to the public on 22 April 2011 during the International Air Transport Forum in Ulyanovsk. On the same day, the aircraft flew to Zhukovsky in the Moscow Region, where the main segment of its certification tests began in May. Prior to that, the first Tu-204SM had flown 33 test sorties under the preliminary test programme during December 2010 through April 2011.

The airliner’s presentation included a meeting of the leaders of Tupolev and its Ulyanovsk-based affiliate and representatives of Russian airlines that might be interested in Tu-204SM acquisition with. the Red Wings, Transaero, Polyot, Volga-Dnepr, Aviastar-TU, Continent and several other Russian carriers among them. During the meeting, special attention was paid to the upgrade of the airliner’s avionics, which made possible the transition to a crew of two.

The guests also were shown the manufacturing of other Tu-204SMs in the final assembly shop of the Aviastar-SP close corporation, housing two more airliners at various degrees of completion. The second aircraft (c/n 64151) could be rolled out to the in-house flight test facility come June and the third one (c/n 64152) in November.

A tentative schedule of the future full-rate Tu-204SM production by Aviastar-SP in 2012–2016 was presented at the forum. According to the diagram displayed, the first production-standard airliner (c/n 64153) could be made in July next year, with 2012 to see four production-standard aircraft made and two prototypes to be groomed for delivery (first, 64152 and then 64150). The Tu-204SM annual output is to total eight aircraft in 2013, with c/n 64151 to get up to snuff at the same time. The manufacturer is prepared to make 10 and 11 production aircraft in 2014 and 2015 respectively, with the six final airliners to follow in 2016 (the final plane, c/n 64191, is slated for production in July 2016).

However, the future of the Tu-204SM programme remains hazy. In spite of the governmental decision to support the programme, Alexander Lebedev, a co-owner of the Red Wings airline, the launch customer for the advanced airliner, Vnesheconombank has failed to craft a Tu-204SM leasing mechanism and decisions on the plane’s price, delivery dates, penalty provisions, depreciation value, maintenance and spares have not been made yet. To cap it all, a key driving force behind the programme, the Ilyushin Finance Co. leasing company, is withdrawing from the programme.

Ilyushin Finance Co. Director General Alexander Rubtsov himself has commented on the decision: “After the Ilyushin Finance Co. had worked out the project and proposed the terms of its funding to the government and Vnesheconombank, a number of meetings have taken place, during which meetings have resulted in the government’s position that the project is very complicated and difficult and has many factors calling for clarity and supervision. All of the parties have decided that a risky project like that should better be entrusted lock, stock and barrel to a governmental entity, which VEB-Leasing is.”

Thus, the future of the programme of production and delivery of 44 Tu-204SM to Red Wings, the sole customer so far, hinges on the government-owned VEB-Leasing company. Time will tell if it is able to disentangle the web of problems still facing the Ilyushin Finance Co. or not. The Tu-204SM is to undergo its certification tests so far. As was said during another meeting of Tupolev leaders and suppliers, 20 test sorties have been slated for this May, in Zhukovsky this time.