Tupolev and Aviastar await potential order (378 words)

Published: 6/11/2001

A visit by a party of Chinese officials has led to considerable speculation over orders for at least ten PS-90 powered Tu-204s, after a Chinese official was quoted as saying that they had plans to buy Russian aircraft. According to press reports, China is interested in acquiring between 10 and 32 of the aircraft, although Lev Lanovsky, from Tupolev, was quoted as saying no specific numbers had been discussed and he attributed China's recent interest in his company's products to tensions between the US and China reducing the attractiveness of the Boeing 757. The news of the potential deal is tempered by the fact that, although China has expressed considerable interest in buying Russian aircraft over the last few years, little has come of discussions over major civil aircraft The most recent talks, in the middle of last year, between Xinjiang Airlines and producers for three Il-96-300s came to naught, after problems with funding and reports of Chinese government objections. The Chinese authorities were also reported to be concerned about the additional capacity in what was seen as a market with already too many seats, as well the safety of Russian aircraft, after a number of incidents involving Russian built Tu-154s. According to sources cited by Flight International, however, a deal will be announced on 14th June, during a state visit by President Putin to China and that four Chinese airlines, including Xinjiang, have already been told by the CAAC that they will be allocated the aircraft. The deal - if it does go ahead - would mark a turning point both for Tupolev and its production plant, Aviastar, as it would undoubtedly require the building of aircraft from scratch, as opposed to utilising existing airframes. The plant currently has eight airframes on the production line, but the level of complexity and cost in restarting production would significantly tax both the financial resources and management of a plant in Ulyanovsk, whose labour force has not been fully paid since last December. The plant is also already having trouble keeping to its existing timetable on deliveries, due to lack of working capital and the knock on effects that it brings in power outages and suspension of utilities.

Article ID: 2580