Mexican airline Interjet has become the first North American customer to place a firm order for the Russian-built SuperJet SSJ100 airliner.
Interjet’s first SuperJet is scheduled for delivery “by the end of the year,” the manufacturer said.
The deal, announced on Tuesday from the Farnborough International Airshow, follows a January 2011 commitment from Interjet for 15 of the aircraft along with options for five more.
Mexico City-based Interjet currently operates a fleet of 35 Airbus A320 jets to over 30 cities in Mexico, Central America and the United States, including Miami, San Antonio, Tex, and soon New York-JFK.
There was no immediate word on which routes the 93-seat SuperJets would operate.
“We are delighted to add five additional SSJ100 to our network,” said Interjet Chairman Miguel Aleman Velasco in a statement. “we are keenly aware of the competitive advantage of the SSJ100 in the 100 segment because of its outstanding characteristics in terms of quality, comfort and operational costs. Wefirmly believe that the SSJ100 is a technologically advanced aircraft which provides the maximum efficiency in the high altitude/high temperature typical of Mexico and fits with Interjet’s high standards”.
The deal marked the biggest sales score for the program since a SuperJet demo flight crashed in Indonesia, killing all 46 people onboard. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but Russian authorities have denied that mechanical failure was at fault. Prior to the crash, SuperJet had been plagued by delivery delays.
