Take-off ticket office: The MC-21 aircraft has risen in price by 65 in two years.%
The MC-21 aircraft has risen in price by 65% in two years, to 7.6 billion rubles, Izvestia found out. Other aircraft have also increased in price: Il-114-300 — up to 2.6 billion rubles, Baikal — up to 315-320 million rubles. The growth was 45-70%. The authorities are working with airlines on leasing models for the purchase of ships at an increased price. Rostec noted that the program to reduce the cost of aircraft is not instantaneous, but will yield results in the future until 2030.
How much will Russian planes cost?
The Department of State Policy in the field of Civil Aviation of the Ministry of Transport has sent information to airlines and airlines about new prices for domestic aircraft with deliveries in 2026. This is stated in the minutes of a meeting at the Ministry of Transport with representatives of airlines, Rostec, UAC, Rosaviation on the flight performance of aircraft MS-21, IL-114, SJ-100, Baikal (LMS-901) and their maintenance. Izvestia has reviewed the document.
Final assembly workshop of the MC-21 aircraft
It is reported that the projected cost of the MC-21 aircraft will be 7606 billion rubles. In the summer of 2023, the State Transport and Leasing Company (STLC) estimated it at 4.3-4.6 billion rubles, excluding subsidies from the National Welfare Fund (NWF). It is noted that the flight performance characteristics of the aircraft currently do not correspond to the planned ones. Certification tests are underway, and their completion date is August 2026.
The estimated cost of the IL-114-300 is also shown there, which has increased to 2.6 billion rubles. In 2023, the average price of an aircraft fluctuated around 1.44 billion rubles.
Anton Alikhanov, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, spoke in more detail about the aircraft on July 2 at the government hour in the Federation Council. According to him, the first three domestic IL-114-300s will cost 4 billion rubles per aircraft, and the subsequent ones will cost 2.6 billion rubles due to reprising.
"This is at the level of Bombardier, ATR, that is, those aircraft that are analogues,— he said.
Currently, three IL-114-300s are undergoing certification tests. The planned completion date is December 2025. In the minutes of the meeting at the Ministry of Transport, it is reported that the flight characteristics of the aircraft do not yet meet the planned ones. At the first stage of their operation, restrictions on use on unpaved runways will be established at least until 2027-2028.
Production of the IL-114-300 civil aircraft
The projected cost of LMS-901 Baikal has also increased and will amount to 315-320 million rubles in 2026 (178 million in 2023). In May of this year, General Director of the Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA, aircraft developer) Leonid Luzgin called the "fork" in aircraft prices at 220-340 million. Then he pointed out the American single-engine Cessna Grand Caravan vessels as Baikal's competitors, the cost of which ranges from $ 2.2 to $ 3.4 million (about 173-267 million rubles at the exchange rate of the Central Bank on July 2), depending on the configuration.
UZGA is currently working to reduce the required take-off/landing distance for the Far Eastern Federal District, according to the protocol. The planned completion date for certification work is December 2026. In parallel, the after-sales service system is being prepared. The cost of maintaining airworthiness is still more than planned, according to the document.
Following the meeting, STLC was instructed to work with airlines to develop models for operational and financial leasing of aircraft. The document contains the position of GTLC that the rental rate can be economically feasible only with 100% financing from the National Welfare Fund. The lease is proposed to be divided into 10 and 7 years, plus a year for remarketing (in the case of providing NWF funds for 20 years and taking into account the advance payment for two years).
The protocol also notes that the cost of aircraft should be comparable to their foreign counterparts. And the financial model of the aircraft acquisition investment project should confirm the repayment of NWF funds.
Russian multipurpose turboprop single-engine aircraft LMS-901 Baikal at the exhibition
Rostec told Izvestia that the forecast prices had been announced for a long time, without taking into account changes in the current economic situation, the Central Bank's rate and investment costs in creating import-substituted versions. Everything is getting more expensive, including materials, electronics, and the cost of other components. And it is incorrect to compare the first samples of aircraft, the price of which is always higher, and machines that have been produced for a long time in large quantities, the state corporation noted.
— If we compare the catalog prices for foreign aircraft, the difference is not so significant. Foreign manufacturers give airlines discounts due to the scale of their business and government support from national governments, including indirectly through defense contracts, Rostec added.
With the increase in the series, the price will decrease, and moreover significantly — there is such a task, the state corporation said.
—A program is being worked out with relevant departments and airlines to reduce the cost of aircraft, which will not be immediate, but will yield results in the future until 2030," they noted, adding that even now, when comparing prices for foreign and Russian aircraft, the difference is insignificant.
Flight performance characteristics will be brought up to target parameters, as happened with foreign analogues at the time, Rostec said.
Izvestia sent requests to the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Federal Air Transport Agency, the State Transport Committee, the Ministry of Finance, the UAC and major airlines.
The cost of owning an aircraft is one of the airline's key expenses and, undoubtedly, the high price of the airliner negatively affects the economy of transportation, Viktor Anoshkin, Director of Information Policy and Corporate Communications at Smartavia, told Izvestia. At the same time, according to him, the cost of leasing is much more important than the price of the aircraft. With a profitable financial product, the operation of even an expensive aircraft can be quite profitable, he added.
Airline support measures
"The first samples of aircraft are always so expensive that it is impossible to sell them even at cost price," Oleg Panteleev, executive director of the Aviport agency, told Izvestia. — In our conditions, the situation was aggravated by inflationary processes, an increase in the key rate, and so on.
If the government does not subsidize the supply of new aircraft, then they are sold at a loss and only after increasing the production of airliners is it possible to achieve an operational advantage, the expert noted.
According to him, the list of financial instruments for support is not too large. This may include compensation of the interest rate on loans, an additional issue to the authorized capital of leasing companies, or allocation of funds from the National Welfare Fund at 1.5% per annum, as well as setting a guideline cost for the first batches of aircraft to cover the manufacturer's losses from the budget.
Final assembly workshop of the MC-21 aircraft
"With the development of mass production, the price of aircraft may decrease, although the cost of operation will remain high," Andrey Patrakov, founder of the flight safety service RunAvia, told Izvestia. — In the early years, airplanes can suffer from "childhood diseases" that affect the economy of flights.
To compensate, airlines include the costs in the ticket price, the expert explained.
"The cost of aircraft ownership is traditionally in the top 3 airline expenses due to lease payments and bank loans," Oleg Panteleev continues. — It can be assumed that an increase in the projected cost of aircraft will lead to an increase in airline costs and affect transportation prices.
However, the reality is not always like that. According to the expert, it is necessary to compare the costs of new domestic aircraft with the costs of a fleet of foreign ships, including maintaining their airworthiness. At some point, due to sanctions, "foreign cars" will become much more expensive to operate than new domestic airliners. Do not forget that a zero VAT rate has been set for domestic aircraft, which will help to equalize the economy of carriers, he added.
— In general, today there is a lot of speculation about the timing, characteristics, and prices in the domestic civil aviation industry. But if we want to be a serious aviation power, we will have to go through all the stages of formation and growth," said the Rostec representative.
He recalled that foreign aircraft have simply been unavailable to the Russian market for several years. You can compare domestic airliners with Airbus and Boeing as much as you like, but these manufacturers have banned the sale of their aircraft to companies from our country, Rostec concluded.
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