newstodate.aero
JUN 08, 2005 (newstodate): Russian airlines currently operate a total of 1,438 commercial aircraft, and the need for replacements is imminent.
In the segment of longhaul aircraft including IL-96, IL-86, TU-154 and Boeing/Airbus aircraft, the ageing TU-154 numbers 352 out of a total of 633 aircraft, and in the segment of medium- and shorthaul aircraft including TU-134, AN-24 and YAK-40, the TU-134 counts 242 out of a total of 775 aircraft.
The massive withdrawal of the TU-134 is expected to boom by 2010-12, while the TU-154 may remain in service till 2018-2020.
The maintenance and upgrading costs of the Tupolev aircraft are, however, prohibitive, their fuel burn almost double that of modern Western aircraft, and the utilisation rate as calculated in flying hours per day is roughly one-fifth of comparable Western aircraft, sources say. Also EU regulations on noise and emissions are increasingly limiting the operational range of the ageing Russian commercial aircraft.
The replacement by Western aircraft is still hampered by Russian import taxes and VAT that add some 50 percent to the price tag.
In the segment of longhaul aircraft including IL-96, IL-86, TU-154 and Boeing/Airbus aircraft, the ageing TU-154 numbers 352 out of a total of 633 aircraft, and in the segment of medium- and shorthaul aircraft including TU-134, AN-24 and YAK-40, the TU-134 counts 242 out of a total of 775 aircraft.
The massive withdrawal of the TU-134 is expected to boom by 2010-12, while the TU-154 may remain in service till 2018-2020.
The maintenance and upgrading costs of the Tupolev aircraft are, however, prohibitive, their fuel burn almost double that of modern Western aircraft, and the utilisation rate as calculated in flying hours per day is roughly one-fifth of comparable Western aircraft, sources say. Also EU regulations on noise and emissions are increasingly limiting the operational range of the ageing Russian commercial aircraft.
The replacement by Western aircraft is still hampered by Russian import taxes and VAT that add some 50 percent to the price tag.