The ban on "Boeing" and "Airbases" will make you remember the Soviet experience
Russia will be able to cope with the painful sanctions of the United States and the European Union in the field of civil aviation and will ultimately benefit greatly from import substitution, URA said in an interview.EN Head of the State Duma Committee on Industry and Trade Vladimir Gutenev. According to him, domestic enterprises will soon be ready to produce dozens of modern and safe aircraft annually, and while the government is setting up their production, Russians will be able to fly on the remaining Boeing and Airbus.
- President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with representatives of the aviation industry on March 31, said that Western partners had deceived Russian airlines. The government says that war has been declared on Russian civil aviation. And how do you assess the situation?
- You can't call it anything else but an economic war. Western companies have not fulfilled their obligations, they have stopped the supply and maintenance of aircraft, as well as terminated the lease and insurance contracts. Thus, they have dropped their reputation to zero, besides, foreign lessors are facing bankruptcy. We are in a difficult situation at the moment, but in the future our aircraft manufacturers and related industries (titanium, aluminum, special steel) will get a sales market and new jobs. As a result, an economic breakthrough and technological independence.
- And what are we going to fly?
- First of all, on planes that our airlines leased from foreigners. They remain in Russia. I admit that we may be talking about their nationalization. These are mostly fresh Boeings and Airbases, especially Aeroflot's young fleet. We have our own specialists to service them, taking into account the parallel import of spare parts from third countries, it will be possible to use these aircraft for years to come.
Production of short-haul Superjets and IL-114, medium-haul aircraft MS-21 and Tu-214, as well as long-haul upgraded Il-96 will be increased. Today, 150 "Superjets" are used on regular flights. Domestic PD-14 engines will be installed on the MS-21 instead of American Pratt & Whitney engines, and PD-8 engines will be installed on Superjets instead of French Sam146 engines. Tu-214 aircraft, where there are almost no imported components, are ready to produce 10 units per year in Kazan.
Do not forget about the joint Russian-Chinese project of a wide-body long-haul CR929 aircraft, which can receive a PD-35 engine. In general, after 2014, we have accumulated a wealth of experience in import substitution, especially of Ukrainian engines, both for aircraft and helicopters. We have a favorable situation in regional aviation. The LMS-901 Baikal was developed in the Urals. Like the TVRS-44, L-410, L-610 models, it is based on a domestic component base. There shouldn't be any big problems here.
- The government expects that by 2030 Russia will receive more than 500 aircraft of domestic production. Is it a lot or a little?
- This will be enough to cover the needs of the country, taking into account the fact that foreign companies will be involved in foreign air transportation. For domestic transportation, there are enough domestic aircraft and those leasing Boeing and Airbases that we have left at home. I think an acute shortage of equipment will be avoided.
- On April 1, Putin signed a decree according to which Russian airlines will temporarily be able to pay for the purchase, lease and leasing of aircraft to companies from unfriendly states in rubles through accounts opened in Russian banks. Is it worth paying at all?
- If the sanctions become tougher, then, in my opinion, there is no need to pay anything, they can write off payments from our illegally frozen foreign currency accounts. You can issue orders for write-offs, and not "live" money. There is also a mechanism of trade exchanges, because Western countries also need to import our goods. It is possible that after some time the lessors will come to their senses and resume aircraft maintenance, then we can talk about resuming payments. Otherwise, it will be an irrational position.
- The government has promised to take measures to curb the price of jet fuel so that air tickets do not become more expensive. How can this be done?
- The government has many mechanisms for regulating fuel prices, ranging from import quotas to stimulating production. Many manufacturers now do not want to reduce production in order not to lose qualified personnel, and are ready to work in a warehouse, or saturate the Russian market with their products, selling them at a low profit. In my opinion, it is wrong to reduce the price of jet fuel only at the expense of subsidies from the state. It is not necessary to force anyone to work at a loss, but the profitability should be transparent and understandable so that no one profited from citizens.
- The government received a task from the president to keep the volume of domestic passenger traffic at least at the level of last year, but the economic situation is not yet conducive to travel. What does it take for Russians to want to fly again?
- There are no more covid restrictions, so it is necessary to stimulate tourism with air travel. The government already has a successful experience, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has proved that he knows how to masterfully manage various support measures. I believe that the government is capable of fulfilling the President's instructions and will do so.
Sergey Bolotov
