The Tu-214 is unlikely to overcome its main economic problem – small-scale production – in the coming years. This opinion was expressed to "Pervy Tekhnichesky" by Yury Tretyakov, a technical director in the aircraft manufacturing industry.
According to him, the aircraft's difficulties cannot be reduced solely to individual operational features. The small production series itself and the associated problems of manufacturing complex aviation equipment affect the economics.
"Small-scale production" and the accompanying unresolvable problems of any product with the complexity level of an aircraft, judging by the economic basis of what is happening, will remain with us for a long time.
Tretyakov believes that there is no reason to expect these factors to disappear quickly. He also questioned the very idea of developing national aircraft manufacturing solely under market conditions.
Discussing aircraft manufacturing in any country without "total subsidization" is a long-studied myth.
In February, United Aircraft Corporation (OAK), GTLK, and S7 Group signed a memorandum on the supply of 100 Tu-214 aircraft, starting in 2029. As of September 2026, there is no firm contract.
The head of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, noted that KAZ would focus on producing new modern airliners. In the civilian sector, KAZ builds Tu-214s, and there are plans to increase production to 20 units per year. Against this backdrop, the enterprise is actively looking for lathe operators for a basic salary of up to 97 thousand rubles.