It is too early to call the new MC-21-310 medium-haul airliner the best competitor for the foreign Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737. A final comparison should be made not based on developers' statements, but on the official characteristics of the certified aircraft, said "Pervy Tekhnichesky" Honored Pilot of the USSR Oleg Smirnov.
According to him, airliners should be compared by specific parameters — weight, capacity, speed, fuel consumption, range, engine power, and service life. These are the indicators that determine airlines' choice of aircraft, Smirnov emphasized.
Once we receive the certificate, we will compare. All the data will be clearly written there.
Smirnov reminded that during the construction of the MC-21, its foreign competitors managed to receive new modifications.
Therefore, the aircraft will have to be compared not with the versions of Boeing and Airbus that existed during the first presentations of the MC-21, the former pilot concluded.
Nevertheless, MC-21 Chief Designer Vitaly Naryshkin stated that the aircraft will surpass foreign competitors in terms of comfort due to its wide passenger cabin and spacious cockpit. He did not mention anything about flight economics or inter-service intervals.