Superjet Rolled Out

As promised, Sukhoi rolled out its 110-seat Superjet 100 airliner providing a new competitor to Bombardier and Embraer, once it is certified. However, that competition may be a long time coming considering how long it took Embraer to make a significant impact on the market but today it is on of four major players. Even so Sukhoi has Western partners, one of which, Alenia, provided the connection to its first Western order from Itali, which ordered 10 of the $28 million aircraft.  The price is 25 percent lower than the Embraer 190. Fifteen of the 73 orders are from Aeroflot, which placed a $400 million order. Other orders come from Russian regional operators. Snecma and Thales are also involved in the billion dollar project. In addition, Boeing has been a participant in the program helping with design, marketing and Western certification. The rollout ceremony took place at Sukhoi's factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia’s Far East. The company expects to manufacture six aircraft a month by 2010. The fledgling aircraft is a bid to diversify the Russian economy beyond oil and gas.