The first mainline narrow-body Tu-214 aircraft for Russian airlines will appear in 2023. This was announced by the General Director of the UAC Yuri Slyusar within the framework of the international military-technical forum "Army-2022".
According to him, the Tu-214 will be comfortable enough for passengers. Now new lighting equipment, seats, luggage racks that meet international requirements, and an air conditioning system are used on airplanes, the head of the UAC clarifies.
Given that serial production of the SSJ New and MC-21 will begin only in 2024 (in the case of the MC-21, apparently, only at the end of 2024), the Tu-214 will be the only alternative to retiring Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 fleets. Until recently, the Tu-214 was produced in small volumes, since it is operated only in state aviation.
But now the situation has changed: 70 such aircraft are planned to be manufactured by 2030. One of the main customers will be Aeroflot. According to the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Vitaly Savelyev, the company considers the Tu-214 as a base aircraft for its fleet. The Tu-214 is equipped with a Russian PS-90A engine.