With development starting in 2000, it made its maiden flight on 19 May 2008 and its first commercial flight on 21 April 2011 with Armavia. The 46–49 t (101,000–108,000 lb) MTOW plane typically seats 87 to 98 passengers and is powered by two 77–79 kN (17,000–18,000 lbf) PowerJet SaM146 turbofans developed by a joint venture between French Safran and Russian NPO Saturn. By May 2018, 127 were in service and by September the fleet had logged 300,000 revenue flights and 460,000 hours. The plane has recorded three hull loss accidents and 86 deaths as of May 2019. The five-abreast cross-section is more optimised beyond 70 seats than the four-abreast Bombardier CRJs and Embraer E-Jets but smaller than the six-abreast Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. The SSJ100 typically seats 87 to 98 passengers. In Russia, it replaces the aging Tupolev Tu-134 and Yakovlev Yak-42 aircraft. It competes with the Antonov An-148, Embraer E190 and the Bombardier CRJ1000. It is the first new civil non-amphibious jet aircraft developed in post-Soviet Russia. In May 2018, ten years after its first flight, the fleet of 127 have logged over 275,000 commercial flights and 420,000 hours. In September 2018, it had logged over 300,000 revenue flights lasting 460,000 hours. The last European operator of Sukhoi Superjet 100 has reportedly returned its Russian-made aircraft to the owner. The aircraft manufacturer claims that it “contradicts the reality”. Well, sort of. CityJet, the last European operator to have Sukhoi Superjet 100 in its fleet, has returned the aircraft to the owner, Vedomosti reported on February 18, 2019. According to the publication, the reason for the decision a huge lack of spare parts, which caused long groundings of the aircraft. For more information, click here.
