The economic problem of the Tu-214 lies in the third crew member, without whom the airliner cannot yet operate flights. Airline expenses could reach an additional 1.5 billion rubles per year, warned analysts from the publication "Tekhnosfera Rossiya".
Operating one aircraft requires about six rotating crews. For example, if an airline forms a fleet of 50 Tu-214s, it will need approximately 300 flight engineers.
For an airline, this is not a matter of convenience, but a matter of aircraft operating economics.
With an average specialist salary of 350 thousand rubles per month, the payroll alone will exceed 1.26 billion rubles annually. Including insurance contributions and qualification maintenance, expenses approach 1.5 billion rubles per year.
One new Tu-214 is estimated at 6 billion rubles, although in 2023 the cost was around 3.2 billion rubles. Against this background, the Kazan Aircraft Plant is looking for electroplaters with a salary of 50 thousand rubles.