Russia invites China develop competitor to Boeing and Airbus

RIA Novosti ^ | 15:02 | 23/ 09/ 2005 | Alexei Yefimov

[eks41]

BEIJING, September 23 (RIA Novosti, Alexei Yefimov) -- Russia has invited China to help develop and manufacture a new passenger plane, aimed to compete with Boeing and Airbus, senior officials from the country's leading aircraft makers said Friday.

Vladimir Belyakov, deputy general director of Ilyushin, said the firm, together with two other top Russian producers, Yakovlev and Tupolev, was working on the low-cost, fuel efficient MS-21 passenger plane.

The MS-21 project was presented at the Beijing Aviation Expo 2005.

"We would like to make it an international project and develop the plane with the help of other companies, including foreign firms," said Arkady Gurtovoy, deputy general director of the Tupolev design bureau. Russian manufacturers have offered 30%-50% participation in the project to China Aviation Industry Corporation II, he added.

Andrey Matveyev, general designer of the Yakovlev bureau, said the project aimed to create a family of short-range and medium-range passenger planes similar to Airbus A319/A320 and Boeing 737.

According to Matveyev, "a sketch design of the MS-21 should be finished by the middle of 2006." The certification is planned for 2011, and the plane will become operational in 2012.

The MS-21 plane will have three versions, for 132, 150 and 168 passengers, with the flight range of up to 4,000 miles, Matveyev said, adding that the current demand for such aircraft in China was more than 400 planes and in Russia - 800 planes. The global demand could reach 10,000 planes in the next 10-15 years.

[msnimje]

Russia is on my list of "Poopy Countries."

[operation clinton cleanup]

Well, Boeing and Airbus cant corner the market forever.

[operation clinton cleanup]

Russia is on my list of "Poopy Countries."

They have been on my crap list for years...

[Artemis Webb]

This would be serious competition. I guarantee they would develop well made aircraft at more than competitive prices.

[peyton randolph]

This would be serious competition. I guarantee they would develop well made aircraft at more than competitive prices.

Yep. Try to compete with prison labor...or females who get paid the equivalent of 33 cents a day plus dormitory room and board.

[carumba]

I remember their Super Sonic that fell apart in the air above Paris.

[staytrue]

Yep. Try to compete with prison labor...or females who get paid the equivalent of 33 cents a day

On the other hand, how hard is it to compete against the French (airbus) or the Boeing Machinists Union (currently on strike).

[red flanker]

Translation: 'Aeroflopt will help you hurl across the world in comfort'

[NC Native]

If the build quality of this "aircraft" matches the cheap chicom crap (say that five times fast!) that is flooding American stores, then you couldn't get me to board it at gunpoint.

[Centurion2000]

This would be serious competition. I guarantee they would develop well made aircraft at more than competitive prices.

Obviously you have never flown Aeroflot or Tupolev.

[SampleMan]

Fuel Economy. That's the ticket. Can they do that, and make an airliner that doesn't have a horrific accident record. Russian safety records are hard to determine because so many of their aircrew are incompetent or drunk.

[RussianJew]

Aeroflot is an air company.
Tupolev is a jet building company.
So, It's hard to see the difference, i suppose.

Another air companies:
Sibir Airlines
TransAero
etc.
Another jet building companies:
Sukhoy (Su) - RRJ
Antonov (An) - Cargo jets
Ilyushin (Il) - Cargo and passenger jets.

These companies have a lot of new planes, but they have no money to produce them, see for example RRJ (Russian Regional Jet)

[RussianJew]

oh yeah, and the wearing USHANKA (kinda hat) and drink VODKA (kinda boot) with the MEDVED (kinda bear) in the cockpit during the flight () . Oh, sorry, I forgot nukes (kinda bombs)and KGB thugs (kinda SPECNAZ). My fault. :)

[iva]

i guess you are living in Brooklin (kinda emigrant) cose you have kinda rather tourist's kind of you

[RussianJew]

Iva. Its a joke. Don't you see? :)

[Centurion2000]

Aeroflot is an air company.
Tupolev is a jet building company.

I understand them perfectly. Moya xena russkaya. I just wouldn't fly one or the other unless my life was literally on the line.

[GarySpFc]

I just wouldn't fly one or the other unless my life was literally on the line.

Granted, I have flown on a Tupolev a couple of times, but never again. That said, you wouldn't fly Aeroflot's 767s or 777s?

I know some of you will never fly Airbus for safety reasons, and now you can elminate Boeing, because the new 787 and 747 Advanced are being designed at Boeing's Design Center in Moscow. That is Moscow as in Russia, not Iowa.

[RussianJew]

This is exactly that I wanted to say. But You were first.
BTW, I am agree that Tu-134 and Tu-154 MUST BE REPLACED. They are too old and unsafe (despite the fact that the soviet constructors designed them with a tripled guaranty time)
Another point is to protect the Russian jet makers (sorry, guys :(). So the balance MUST BE hold. (Russian point of view). New Russian passenger jets are ready. They fly, they are safe, but there is not a lot of them. Or, may be you, guys, just do not need the competitor? :)

[GarySpFc]

As a matter of fact there is a regional jet being jointly designed by Boeing and Sukhoi.

HAL may link up with Sukhoi for production of passenger jet
Moscow: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is exploring the possibility of forming a joint venture with the Russian aircraft manufacturer, Sukhoi, to produce a passenger jet, senior officials of Bangalore-based HAL have said here.

The officials were talking to a group of Indian newsmen at the MAKS 2005 air show, which concluded last week. It was the first time that HAL had put up its stall at the air show.

Under the Russian Regional Jet (RRJ) programme, Sukhoi Aviation Holding is developing a family of jets to carry 60, 75 or 95 passengers. Co-designed by Boeing, the jet is scheduled to make its maiden flight by 2007 with deliveries set to begin in 2008, sources in the company's Civil Aircraft Division said.

Sukhoi proposes to sell 800 jets by 2020, most of them abroad, they said.

India has already expressed its intention to invest US$100 million in the venture which expects to corner about 16 per cent (about 800 aircraft) of the total market share for the short haul aircraft.

Pointing out that there was a huge demand for smaller aircraft, officials of the Russian carrier Aeroflot said the project could be very competitive.