CityJet have been in need of renewing their short-haul fleet for some time. At the moment, it is made up mostly of BAe/Avro Regional Jet 85s – which are starting to be past their prime.
CityJet have been evaluating options – and have come down on which supplier they want their new planes from – and the spoil of war go to the Sukhoi Superjet 100
For Sukhoi this is an important order. Whilst the order from VLM was the first of its type from Western Europe – it was for a grand total of two aircraft.
The CityJet order is a much larger quantity of 15 Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft, which will replace the existing 18 Avro RJ85s.
Cabin interiors will be in a 2-3 layout for the dense services the airline runs out of its base at London City Airport.
There remains the issue of getting the plane certified for use at London City Airport (which requires a 5.5 degree glide-scope as opposed to the usual 3 degree scope.). This is also an issue that the Bombardier CSeries 100 will face when it is finally introduced into service.
Deliveries of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 are set for 2016-2017 – and I think if the introduction of the type is smooth and problem free, other European operators might want sniff around the SuperJet 100 to see if it their meets their shorhaul needs in restricted airfields…
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