Valery Okulov, director general of Aeroflot airlines
Photo: Mikhail Pochuev
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Aeroflot Almost Agrees on Russian Regional Jet
// The contract on the planes may be signed at Le Bourge
The aircraft industry
Aeroflot airlines and Sukhoi company have started drafting a contract on the supplies of the planes of Russian Regional Jet (RRJ) series, designed for domestic service, Kommersant learnt. General agreement, backed by state officials, was reached by the heads of the companies and will be announced at Paris Le Bourge show next week. Market participants say that Sukhoi needs the contract more as it has not had customers for RRJ before. Having chosen the state-supported project, Aeroflot can now ask for the import of foreign jets at a cut price till the time RRJ is put into production.
OAO Aeroflot (51-percent state-owned) announced a tender on the purchase of regional planes in July, 2004. “The invitation to tender for supplies (leasing) of regional jets” was sent to Sukhoi Civil Airplanes (RRJ project), Ilyushin Finans Co. (An-148), Proyekt-3000 (Tu-334), Embraer and Bombardier. The letter says that Aeroflot needs 50 planes for five years starting from the year 2005. Talks with the winner of the tender on the contract were supposed to be held in March but the airline still could not make its choice. The company’s management, headed by director general Valery Okulov, preferred first to enlist the support of the state. As the director of the Energy and Industry Ministry’s department for defense industry complex Yury Koptev says, the state considers RRJ project to be a key one.
Kommersant learnt that Aeroflot and Sukhoi had stepped up negotiations lately and were preparing to sign contracts at Le Bourge. “The agreement has been reached at the level of directors general of the two companies, Valery Okulov and Mikhail Pogosyan,” as source familiar with the situation told Kommersant. He maintains that it is only the status of the documents to be signed that has not been determined. “I doubt that Sukhoi is able meet all the demands of Aeroflot,” a source close to the airline told Kommersant. “After all, the carrier would like to have a contract on jets that already exist [the first flight of RRJ is due in a year.] That’s why, probably, it is going to be just another memorandum.” “The documents are indeed being prepared. It is not a memorandum, but it is not a many-volume contract either,” a source in Sukhoy reported to Kommersant.
Official comments of the parties are brief. “The proposal of Sukhoi to conclude the contract is being considered now,” Lev Koshlyakov, deputy director general of Aeroflot, informed Kommersant. “Yes, we are holding negotiations with Aeroflot on the tender of the company. They are considering our proposal. We expect to receive the result of the examination soon,” Olga Kayukova, spokesperson for Sukhoy Civil Airplanes said.
The conclusion of the contract with Sukhoi means that Aeroflot has chosen the supplier of regional jets, and the main rival of RRJ, An-148 was left out of work. “The contract with Aeroflot is very important for us, for instance, in order to charge the facilities of Voronezhsky joint-stock aircraft construction company, but we already have customers for the jets,” Andrey Lipovetsky, spokesperson of Ilyushin Finans Co., says. Ilyushin signed in late April an agreement with KrasAir on the financial leasing of ten planes with the option of five more jets for the sum total of over $270 million. Now, a contract with Pulkovo Airoport is being drafted.
However, market watchers suppose that the willingness of Aeroflot to purchase jets of the state-endorsed project will primarily enable the company to seek the import of foreign jets at a cut price until the moment when RRJ are put into production.
&Aeroflot’s Technicians and Engineer Pressed for Time
The Trade Union of the Aircraft Workers of Aeroflot voiced their dissatisfaction with the maintenance of the company’s jets. “We want technicians and engineers be given more time for the technical examination of the planes for flights,” Viktor Kleshchenkov, a member of the trade union’s council, claimed. He also added that similar complaints were ignored by the management. “The amount of flaws and gross violations caused by unsatisfactory organization of the technical servicing rose in spring and summer 2004 6 times, compared to 2003,,” the press release of the trade union states. Aeroflot refutes this information. The company’s press release makes it a point that Aeroflot has reached in March 2005 the highest security level of flights for the last years – 99.99 percent. The company clarified the matter saying that the Trade Union of Aircraft Workers had not been the primary trade union of Aeroflot since April 7 after the ruling of the Savelovsky District Court, which does not enable it to spoke on the behalf of the workers of Aeroflot.
Sergey Ryzhkin
All the Article in Russian as of June 10, 2005
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