The likely price of the new regional aircraft LMS-901 "Baikal" is around 200 million rubles. However, imported models will cost even more, and given the sanctions, there will also be problems with spare parts, explained aviation expert Roman Gusarov to "First Technical".
Therefore, "Baikal" should primarily be compared with the An-2, which first took to the skies in the 1950s, he believes. A modern aircraft cannot be cheap.
An-2 spare parts are cheap, you can take them from old airplanes. But you can't always compare the operation of a Mercedes and an old "Zhiguli". "Zhiguli" will be cheaper, but it will be a "Zhiguli".
Gusarov added that there is still no alternative to "Baikal" for small aviation in Russia. Foreign aircraft are less adapted to Russian operating conditions, the specialist said.
We can look at an airplane of approximately the same type, for example, a Canadian one. It will cost from 6 million dollars without sanctions, directly, and 9 million dollars through roundabout routes, and you still can't get spare parts.
According to him, several domestic airlines have already ordered "Baikals" for their fleet.
I won't name them yet, because I don't know in what status the orders are - firm or not. But I know exactly which airlines are waiting for the LMS-901.
Oleg Panteleev, Executive Director of the AviaPort agency, also explained to "First Technical" that the cost of "Baikals" is generally not important to local airlines. A more significant figure is the cost of monthly lease payment and the ability of the region's budget to subsidize it.
"First Technical" analyzed the oddities in the pricing of the LMS-901 in a large article.
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