Regular flights on the Superjet between Moscow and Minsk have resumed, but the sky is not yet seeing the import-substituted version of the aircraft, but a familiar model of the previous generation. Roman Gusarov, editor-in-chief of the AVIA.RU portal and industry expert, spoke about this, explaining the difference between the current operational machines and promising developments.
According to Roman Gusarov, the inaugural flight from Zhukovsky to Minsk was operated by an SSJ 100 aircraft – this is a version that was produced jointly with French partners until 2022. There are about one hundred and fifty such aircraft remaining in the fleet of Russian airlines, and they continue to carry passengers, despite difficulties with the supply of foreign components.
The import-substituted version of the aircraft is called SJ 100 – one letter shorter, but with fundamentally new internal components. The key difference is the Russian PD-8 engine, which is already undergoing a series of certification tests.
Gusarov emphasized that the resource of Western components on old Superjets is gradually being depleted.
Problems exist and have a cumulative effect. Last year, the head of Rosaviatsiya, Yadrov, said that by 2028, the operation of old Superjets – SSJ 100 – would be discontinued because the resource of many Western components, primarily engines, would be exhausted.
The expert also touched upon the issue of aircraft shortages in the domestic market. In the first quarter of 2026, Russian airlines carried 340-370 thousand fewer passengers than a year earlier – not due to a drop in demand, but due to a shortage of aircraft.
