The Cranky Flier » Sukhoi

Cranky on the Web (March 28 – April 1)

CF — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 10:45:53 +0000

Don’t let turbulence freak you out – CNN Out of the Office
This week I tackle turbulence. It’s not going to kill you, even it scares you senseless.

Shrinking Subsidies: Can Southwest Serve Mid-Tier Cities Profitably? – BNET Headwinds
It’s sort of a jump to get to this title, but subsidies are starting to shrink thanks to government budget cuts, and AirTran has a lot of cities it serves thanks to subsidies. Will Southwest be able to continue that?

New Entrants Race to Build Small Airplanes – BNET Headwinds
The 70 to 100 seat market is getting crowded with both Sukhoi and Mitsubishi throwing their hats into the ring. Chances for success seem slim to me.

Alaska to compensate fliers caught in computer outage – The Seattle Times
The reporter seemed very concerned that Alaska hadn’t immediately offered compensation to people impacted by the computer meltdown over the weekend. I said that it would have been foolish to focus on that when people just needed to get places. Worry about compensation after the fact.

In the Trenches: Why I’m Not Using Google AdWords – Intuit Small Business Blog
I’ve tried using Google AdWords a couple times and so far, no luck. But that doesn’t mean I won’t go back.

This Week on BNET (June 22 – 26)

CF — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:57:37 +0000

US Airways’ Charlotte to Honolulu Flight Might Just Work
At first glance, the new US Airways flight from Charlotte to Honolulu seems pretty awful, but it may actually end up being smart.

Alaska Fills the Void in the Austin to San Jose Market
American pulls out and a couple days later, Alaska moves in. This might be smart.

Continental’s Biofuel Test Results are Good
Continental’s biofuel test results mirror those of Air New Zealand. They’re good.

Frontier to Become Subsidiary of Republic
Frontier announced yesterday that it plans to come out of bankruptcy as a full subsidiary of Republic.

What is Republic’s Strategy?
Now that Republic has stepped out in a big way with its Frontier purchase, what exactly is its strategy?

787 First Flight Delayed . . . Again
Did you hear that scream from airline exec offices around the world? The 787 is delayed once again.

United Pilots Prepare for Scope Battle
Pilot negotiations at United are heating up and Scope is about to take center stage.

Malev Orders Sukhoi Superjets
The Superjet got a big order, but is this the start of something big?

Sukhoi Superjet Takes Flight

CF — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:38:21 +0000

Congratulations to Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi. The company’s first Superjet 100 successfully flew yesterday. This is obviously a huge milestone for any aircraft program, but it must be even more exciting for these guys since this is the first Russian commercial jet program with any economic success potential in many, many years.

Sukhoi’s Director General was so happy, he, um, didn’t make any sense at all. He said, “Today is the most important day for us – we have virtually beaten the air with our own wings.” Uh, ok. Not sure what the air did to deserve the beating, but well, whatever. I’ll just assume it’s a translation issue.

This aircraft is very interesting, and I will be curious to see if it can gain any traction outside of the Russian sphere of influence. The aircraft has had plenty of Western help in its build, but it still carries a Russian name, and that may turn some operators off.

I have to assume that the price will be right, and the aircraft economics should be quite good as well (they say). Think about it this way. This plane should compete with the Embraer E190 family of aircraft. Who would have thought 20 years ago that you’d be buying jets from Brazil?

Further reading: My previous posts on the aircraft

The Supercool Sukhoi Superjet Rolls Out

CF — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:45:06 +0000

While the 787 rollout garnered worldwide coverage back in July, there was a more recent rollout that has basically gone unnoticed in the US. Yes, it’s the Supercool Sukhoi Superjet. The plane officially rolled out on September 26, and I must say it’s one good looking plane.

First flight will be within a couple months, and there are 73 firm orders. I know western airlines are hesitate about buying a plane from a Russian manufacturer considering past entries in the market, but I have to think that this will be the first time that a Russian airliner gets at least a second look from the West. In fact, an Italian airline ItAli has already ordered some for delivery.

Congratulations to Sukhoi for getting this one together. Now let’s see if it lives up to performance guarantees.

The Supercool Sukhoi Superjet 100

CF — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 17:06:36 +0000

Superjet 100 seems like a Supergoofy name for an airplane, don’t you think? Come to think of it, the 787′s moniker – Dreamliner – isn’t exactly any better. Anyway, the Superjet 100 is Russia’s first Superserious entry into the commercial aviation market . . . ever.

Back in the good old days, the Russians thrived on copying western aircraft planes and then tweaking them to fit their needs. They’d market it under their own brand name and make every country in their sphere of influence buy the planes. Today, most airlines have abandoned the old Russian planes, but you will still find them in places like Cuba, Russia (duh), and some of the former Soviet republics. Really, the only reason they’re still around is either due to government pressure or because those airlines don’t have the money to buy newer, better planes.

But now we’ve got the Sukhoi Superjet 100 coming on to the scene, and this could be a real contender in the world of regional jets.

The plane is meant to compete with the Embraer 175/190/195 family as well as the Bombardier CRJ-700/900/1000 family. It will come in two or three sizes, depending on what you believe – 60 seats (maybe), 75 seats, and 95 seats. It will meet all Superstrict FAA (US) and JAA (EU) aviation regulations, and it will produce the same levels of noise as its competitors. The engines are a joint venture between Russian NPO Saturn and France’s Snecma (50% partner on the CFM56 – the engine that powers all 737s built in the last 20 years). Oh, and did I mention that Boeing has been a consultant on the project since the early days? FlightGlobal has all the details you could ever want here.

As you can see above, the plane inside will look sort of like an MD-80, Supersuper 80 if you use American’s naming conventions. The seating configuration will be 2 x 3 for a total of 5 across. That will give the regional jet more of a big jet feel. In fact, the cabin is actually 3″ wider than an MD80. It’s also has 3″ more headroom in the aisle. For more measurements, you can compare it to the MD80 cross section below.

Even though the insides will look similar, the outsides won’t. The Superjet will have engines under the wings so those sitting in the last rows won’t go deaf like they do on MD80s.

I don’t know much about costs yet, especially since the plane hasn’t taken flight, but I have to imagine it will be competitive at least. So will you see these plying skies around the world soon?

That’s the big question that nobody can answer yet. It’s going to take a lot for western airlines to even think about ordering a Russian plane. I mean, there is a long history of mistrust they’ll have to overcome. Recent escalating tensions between the US and Russia can only hurt the effort. But just looking at its merits, it seems like the Superjet could be the first plane out of Russia to actually have a shot at success. (Not Supersuccess, just regular success.)