Irkut Downgrades Malaysia MS-21 Contract to Option

Russia’s aircraft builder Irkut has downgraded a firm contract for 50 MS-21 medium-haul airliners to Malaysia’s Crecom to option status, Irkut President Alexei Fyodorov said on Tuesday.

“Their [Crecom’s] owner has changed and the new owner has requested rescheduling of the delivery deadlines and the timeframe of advance payments. That is why we have downgraded the contract status, transforming it to an option,” Fyodorov said.

Irkut signed the contract with Crecom in 2010.

With Crecom's delivery deadlines shifted, Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot will be the first to receive 50 MS-21 planes powered by Pratt & Whitney engines, with deliveries expected to start in 2017, Fyodorov said.

Irkut signed a final contract in early June with U.S. jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney for turbofans for the MS-21 airliner. The deal may be worth over $1.1 billion at catalog prices, Kommersant business daily reported in April.

Irkut will receive Russian certification for the MS-21 plane in 2017 and international certification in 2018, he said.

Russia is to invest about $5 billion in the MS-21 program. The total portfolio of orders has reached 185 planes, Fyodorov claimed.

The MS-21 is a twin-engine airliner with a capacity of 150-215 passengers, designed by Irkut and the Yakovlev design bureau, part of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation.

The aircraft is designed to replace the ageing Tupolev Tu-154 and Tu-204 on medium-haul routes.

RIA Novosti