The MC-21-310 aircraft being 6 tons overweight compared to planned values directly raises the question of economic benefit for airlines. However, precise characteristics will only be known after the start of operation, explained former Airbus A-320 pilot Andrey Litvinov.
He expressed confidence that there would be demand for the airliner from carriers, as they have no particular choice of what to fly.
They [the developers] got so carried away with import substitution that the aircraft became 6 tons heavier, and this affects the flight range. And it's unclear how it will perform economically.
Aviation expert Ilya Shitilin added that Boeing and Airbus are currently unavailable to Russian airlines, so the MC-21 has virtually no domestic competition.
Former director of the Ulyanovsk branch of "Tupolev" Stanislav Ryzhakov noted that the main question lies in the new "black" wing of the MC-21-310. He reminded that composite material "fears" kerosene, which even the seams of metal wings used to leak.