The first Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner was delivered in a ceremony at Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport to Armenian air carrier Armavia on 19 April 2011. The lead production airliner (c/n 95007) was named after the Earth’s first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and given registration number EK95015. The aircraft has a single-class configuration for 98 seats. A day after having been ferried to the operator’s airport, the new airliner commenced regular services. Russia’s Aeroflot is to start flying its Superjets this summer, too.

“The delivery of the first production plane is a landmark in the implementation of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 programme”, said UAC President and Sukhoi Director General Mikhail Pogosyan during the ceremony in Yerevan. “Today’s event marks a new phase of the programme – the beginning of the commercial operation and full-rate production. I am certain that the new Russian airliner will prove itself as part of the aircraft fleet of the Armavia airline and that our colleagues in Superjet International will provide comprehensive support to Armenia’s flag carrier at the SSJ100’s service entry stage and provide quality timely aftersales support”.

The Sukhoi Civil Aircraft company (SCAC) and Armavia airline signed the contract for Russian-built airliners SSJ100/95B on 14 September 2007. The first production airliner (c/n 95007) designed for the Armenian customer performed its maiden flight in Komsomolsk-on-Amur on 4 November 2010, and its technical acceptance demonstration took place here on 12 April this year following the completion of the tests and presales preparation.

Just a day after the delivery ceremony at Zvartnots, the SSJ100 went on its first passenger flight, having brought 90 passengers from Yerevan to Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow early in the morning on 21 April. The aircraft had logged 24 flights from Yerevan to Moscow, Athens, Donetsk, Aleppo (Syria), Tehran, Tel Aviv and Simferopol in only first 10 days in service, and scheduled Superjet services from Yerevan to Venice kicked off on 1 May. At the initial stage of operation, Armavia pilots supported by Superjet International instructor-pilots Leonid Chikunov and Sergey Korostiyev.

“The plane is excellent in terms of operation. Flights are conducted without significant delays. All flights take place in automatic mode at an altitude of 10,700–11,900 m and a speed of Mach 0.78–0.8”, the Superjet’s pilot Aram Yegoyan said upon arrival to Venice. “The SSJ100 has excellent flight-deck ergonomics and handling qualities. It is easy and comfortable to fly an aircraft”.

“The SSJ100 fights nicely Armavia’s strategic plans of developing its network of routes between the Middle East and Europe, using Zvartnots airport as a hub”, stressed Armavia President Mikhail Bagdasarov.

Established in 1996, Armavia is the leader of the Armenian air transport market, conducting over a hundred scheduled operations a week on 40 routes to 20 countries. In 2010, it carried about 800,000 passengers. Prior to receiving its first Superjet, its aircraft fleet comprised three Airbus A320s, three A319s, a Bombardier CRJ-200 and a few Il-86s and Yak-42s (some of the latter two have been decommissioned of late).

During the first month of regular services with Armavia Sukhoi Superjet 100 has made a total of 66 flights for the overall distance of 85,800 km carrying 2,885 passengers.

The second SSJ100 earmarked or Armavia (c/n 95009) is nearing its completion by SCAC in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. According to the carrier’s head, Mikhail Bagdasarov, “the second SSJ100 shall join Armavia’s fleet in June”. In May, SCAC also was preparing the lead Superjet for delivery to Aeroflot. The aircraft c/n 95008 flew for the first time on 31 January this year and had been given the colours of the customer and registration number RA-89001 late last year.

In accordance with SCAC’s plans, at least 10 out of the 30 Superjets ordered are to be delivered to Aeroflot this year with two aircraft are slated for Armavia. The Aeroflot-intended SSJ100s are to be performed by the VEB-Leasing company, VTB-Leasing supports the fulfilling of the contract awarded by Armavia, and the yet-to-be-clinched deal with Yakutiya was supposed to be fulfilled under a contract between SCAC and the Financial Leasing Company dated 17 August 2005. In addition, a firm order of 24 SSJ100s is to be placed by the UTair carrier, UTair Director General Andrey Martirosov has said recently, with Perm-based Aviaseasing, which awarded the contract for those aircraft to SCAC in June 2009, to act as a lessor.