The new regional aircraft LMS-901 "Baikal" is unlikely to become widespread in Russia due to technical nuances and the high cost of flight. The problem of a modern replacement for the Soviet An-2 was explained by Andrey Patrakov, a flight safety expert at RunAvia service.
He drew attention to the fact that the "Baikal" project has been developed for more than a decade, but the aircraft cannot "get on its wing" in any way.
It turned out to be heavy and very expensive. At this cost, only a few aircraft will be produced. Without additional government subsidies, "Baikal" is unlikely to become available.
Patrakov added that due to the high cost of the aircraft, tickets for the LMS-901 will be "golden". A flight may cost 150 thousand rubles per seat, although for such money you can fly to Turkey several times, the industry specialist specified.
This cost is unacceptable for the regions. So the question of mass replacement of regional aviation with "Baikal" remains open.
According to the engineers' idea, the LMS-901 project will replace the outdated An-2. Designer Alexander Silin noted that "Baikal" surpasses Soviet machines in speed and fuel efficiency.
Dmitry Baranov, a leading expert at Finam Management UK, stated that "Baikal" will connect hard-to-reach regions of Russia and improve transport links.