The medium-haul airliner MS-21-310 may begin flights in a version with a minimal number of seats. This scenario is being discussed amid data on the increased mass of the import-substituted aircraft, Vedomosti reported.
The first production aircraft may receive a lighter cabin configuration to maintain flight range and commercial efficiency.
Recall that in its basic version, the MS-21-310 is capable of carrying up to 211 passengers in a single-class configuration. However, the minimum two-class scheme usually starts at approximately 132–140 seats. Apparently, these configurations may become a temporary solution for the first deliveries.
Aviation blogger SkyExpert refuted the opinion that the alleged 6-ton overweight of the MS-21-310 was due to new composite wings. In that case, they would have had to be laid in hundreds of composite layers.
It is already known that the Aeroflot group will receive the first batch of MS-21-310s. The discussion was about 200 aircraft by 2030.
