The Tu-214 and MC-21-310 cover a similar segment of passenger transportation, but are at completely different technological levels. The Kazan airliner is definitely necessary for airlines, but it cannot replace the new aircraft, explained Roman Gusarov, editor-in-chief of Avia.ru and aviation expert, to "Pervy Tekhnichesky".
According to the expert, the Tu-214 has an important advantage in range. In addition, the country simply lacks passenger aircraft, so resuming the production of the "Tushka" makes practical sense.
If the MC-21 can still be modernized and developed for many decades, the Tu-214 is already a thing in itself. It is a very good aircraft. But for every technical solution, there is its own era. It is simply from a different era.
Gusarov emphasized that the Tu-214 can play an important role as a transitional solution until the MC-21 enters production.
Earlier, "Pervy Tekhnichesky" in a large article pitted MC-21-310 and Tu-214 against each other and found out which of them is really better in terms of characteristics. A small spoiler: the Kazan airliner definitely has a longer flight range right now.