Deprived of Airbus and Boeing, Russia is forced to relaunch the construction of new Tupolev Tu-214s. Twenty new devices should leave the factories of the country within two years. A symbolic decision when most of the Russian fleet is made up of American or European planes.
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From sanctions against Russia, following the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army, there was a stoppage of the supply of spare parts and the maintenance service by Boeing and Airbus. The concern is that of the 1,300 planes available in Russian airlines, 710 are Boeings and Airbuses. In fact, the Russian authorities have decided to relaunch the production of Tupolev Tu-214. A total of 20 planes should be produced at the factories of Aviastar-SP in Ulyanovsk and Tu-214 in Kazan, according to theUnited Aircraft Corporation (UAC) of Russia. At the rate of 10 per year, according to the objectives, it will take two years to deliver all the aircraft to Russian airlines.
Coming from the Tu-204 family which was to compete with the Boeing 757, theaircraft was only produced on a small scale, mainly for the Russian government and especially for its army.
20 aircraft in two years…
Having taken flight in 1996, the Tu-214 is the variant of the Tu-204, heavier and equipped with a greater autonomy and a second door boarding. The Tu-214 is 46.14 meters long and can carry a maximum of 210 passengers. Reintroducing 100% Russian planes into the country’s airlines which have become heavily westernized remains difficult and these 20 planes alone will certainly not make a difference. So, in an attempt to limit the broken, the authorities are looking for solutions, including the return to service of old IL-96 and IL-86 aircraft. The production of IL-76 is also contemplated.
On the other hand, the Kremlin allowed foreign planes, leased by companies, to be re-registered in Russia. This is particularly what happened for the 125 aircraft in the Rossiya Russian Airlines fleet. As for external flights, the airline is content to operate Sukhoi SSJ-100s to avoid seizures.
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