Willis Lease Finance Signs MOU For Six SSJ100

 September 2, 2010 | Source: Willis Lease Finance

NOVATO, California: Willis Lease Finance Corporation, a leading lessor of commercial jet engines, announced it has signed an agreement with SuperJet International to purchase six Sukhoi Superjet (SSJ) 100 aircraft and options for four additional aircraft. The memorandum of understanding has a value of up to $300 million U.S. dollars under current list pricing and economic conditions. The agreement refers to the SSJ100/95 LR aircraft model in the 98 seat configuration with the first delivery scheduled for September 2012.

"The Sukhoi Superjet represents a significant advancement in the regional jet market, and we believe it fills a need for efficient and affordable transportation to smaller regional centers," said Charles F. Willis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Willis Lease. "Based on early operating tests, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 may be able to deliver operating efficiencies of 10% or better over competing aircraft models.

"In addition to the strong potential we see for developing new regional markets throughout the world, we believe the transaction is a strategic one for us," Willis continued. "The international consortium of companies involved in the launch of this aircraft, include Powerjet which is comprised of NPO Saturn - the major Russian engine manufacturer - and Snecma, the French worldwide leader of engines for the SSJ 100 as well as the CFMI brand. These engines make up a significant portion of our current portfolio. In addition, the premier Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi and the major Italian aerospace leader Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica Company, will provide an entry into these strategic new markets.

"By becoming the first US-based company to join this prestigious alliance, we can benefit from attractive financing alternatives and take a leading role in introducing this innovative aircraft to our global customer base," Willis added.

The deal will mark the first U.S. purchase of Superjet, produced by Russian airline maker Sukhoi in association with Italy's Alenia Aeronautica.

Sukhoi has orders for 161 aircraft from airlines across the world and at home where Russia's biggest carrier Aeroflot — which has ordered 30 aircraft — recently withdrew its Soviet-era Tu-154 fleet from service.

Superjet, the first passenger plane built by Russia since the Soviet collapse, has been widely considered as Russia's chance to gain a foothold in the international passenger airline market.

Superjet is designed to compete against other regional craft such as the Embraer E-Jets and the Bombardier CRJ program. Locally, it will replace Russia's aging fleet of Soviet-designed Tu-134s and Yak-42s in moving people across Russia's vast spaces.

Superjet's engine has already been certified by Russian and EU authorities for service on regional jet aircraft, but it still needs additional Federal Aviation Administration certification to be sold in the United States and Canada.

Sukhoi expects that the plane itself will be certified in October in Russia. The company has not given a timeline for EU and US plane certification yet.