![]() ![]() And he should know since he was responsible for fleet procurement at Lufthansa Group for many years and familiar with the new aircraft concepts.Įxperts like him deem it very likely that the MC-21 is more economical than its Western competitors. "On paper, the MC-21 would deliver a better flight performance than the newest Airbus A320neo," Nico Buchholz told DW. The standard version of the MC-21, aimed at 163 passengers in two classes, should be up to par in range and capacity according to estimates by Western industry experts. The first flight had already taken place on May 28, 2017, followed by a test program with four prototypes. Not surprisingly, it was a long and thorny process until the type certificate from the Russian aviation authority vouching for airworthiness was granted for the base model MC-21-300 on December 28, 2021. Some traditional Russian design offices such as Tupolev and Ilyushin haven't come up with any new airliner designs for the past 30 years. Russia has had a civil aviation industry for a long time, which, however, has been a shadow of its former glory during Soviet times ever since communism faded.Īlthough almost all aviation industry sites in the huge country still exist, just 14 Russian airliners were built in all of 2020 - an amount that Airbus assembles across its different factories in days when everything is up and running. Russian and Chinese jets depend heavily on Western component makers Image: Andreas Spaeth/DW Russia is not new to the game ![]() And it is no wonder as the giants from America and Europe have been resting on their laurels for many decades: The Boeing 737 traces its origins back to 1967, while the Airbus A320 premiered in 1987. The MC-21, in particular, could offer superior performance in some areas, compared to the common types of Airbus and Boeing now being sold. And Airbus and Boeing need to take it seriously. New aircraft are entering the highly lucrative main segment of the airliner market. Now it is uncertain if it can enter service sometime this year. The Chinese had planned to deliver their first C919 to an airline customer at the same time, but this has been delayed, partly because of a lockdown at the test location in Xi'an. That may be about to change.Īfter several hiccups, the MC-21 was finally certified for passenger service in December 2021 and is due to fly scheduled services in Russia later this year. Both have endured years of delays in their development and so far have not caused too much concern for the top dogs in the West. The Irkut MC-21 is from Russia, while the Comac C919 is built in China. ![]() Both the MC-21 and C919 are twin-engine narrow-body planes. They may not sound spectacular, but MC-21 and C919 are out to challenge Airbus and Boeing and their decades-old bestselling aircraft. ![]()
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