Malév Hungarian Airlines and SuperJet International have signed a Letter of Intent aimed at leading to 15 Sukhoi Superjet 100 firm orders and 15 options. The LoI was signed by SuperJet International CEO, Alessandro Franzoni (left in photo) and Malév’s CEO Martin Gauss.
The two parties intend to finalise the contract before the year-end, according to Gauss. Deliveries are scheduled to start in the second half of 2011. From 2012 until the order is completed, the airline plans to take six aircraft a year.
The aircraft will be configured with a two-class layout, but Gauss said the final capacity of each has yet to be decided. Also to be confirmed in the final negotiation stage is which model will be chosen – the B version or the LR version.
Gauss admitted that the airline is interested in a potential stretch of the SSJ100-95 and that the contract would probably include the capability to switch some orders if the manufacturer decides to launch such a variant.
The intended purchase reflects Malév’s move away from long-haul operations and its concentration on operating a fleet comprising Bombardier Q400s, Boeing 737s and now Superjet 100s. “We intend to build up the large regional network,” Gauss remarked.
Although Malév has considerable Russian investment, Gauss confirmed that the decision was purely market-based and there had been no pressure from the shareholders to buy from Russia.
Bernie Baldwin, editor, Low-Fare & Regional Airlines/LARAnews.net
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