Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (Zhukovsky) is in talks with Okay Airways (BK, Tianjin) over a possible order for fifty SSJ 100/95s the Russian Aviation news site has reported. Sukhoi's head of the Sales Support, Daniel Tsalikov, told the magazine during the recent Civil Aviation Leaders Strategy Forum 2014, that the manufacturer is in talks with several other carriers concerning possible SSJ 100 orders.
The Russian manufacturer is also set to establish an assembly line and delivery centre in Zhengzhou, Henan Province following the signing of a USD3.5billion Memorandum of Understanding with the O-bay Aircraft Company for 100 Superjets in March this year.
"They are interested in purchase of up to 100 aircraft: at first the aircraft will be delivered to the customer and later China will start carrying out final assembly of the jets and developing the SSJ 100 production in China", Tsalikov said.
The move comes with Moscow's blessing given the tightening of sanctions imposed by the West over Russia's unilateral annexation of Crimea earlier this year. In June, the Kremlin announced it would cooperate with Beijing in the development and construction of a long-range, wide-body passenger jet and a modern helicopter.
