The production of Il-96-300 wide-body aircraft can be increased if carriers need it. This is reported TASS with reference to a source in the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
In the previously adopted Comprehensive program development of the Russian air transport industry, it is planned to supply airlines during 2025-2030 with only 12 Il-96-300 aircraft - two aircraft per year. At the same time, the program highlights a trend towards the abandonment of foreign wide-body long-haul equipment, and the Il-96-400M, the resumption of production of which has been discussed in recent years, is not mentioned in it.
According to the program’s baseline scenario, until 2025 Russian airlines will not need long-haul aircraft, in 2025 airlines will need two aircraft of this class, and until 2030 their number will increase by two. Long-haul aircraft in the program are Il-96, Airbus A330, A350, Boeing 747, B777.
“The indicators of the comprehensive state program are the result of the analysis and joint development of the document in the air transport and aviation industries. Wide-body long-haul aircraft have always made up only a small fraction of the national fleet. The main volume of traffic falls on narrow-body aircraft, and now this trend is increasing. Plus, regional and local air transportation will develop,” the Ministry of Industry and Trade explained in response to a question about the volume of mass production of the Il-96-300 and plans to fill the fleet of Russian airlines with wide-body long-haul aircraft.
According to a representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, plans to commission new serial take into account the number of aircraft of this class available in the country, the predicted dynamics and needs of the carrier fleet, as well as the changed route structure. The Ministry of Industry and Trade added that if the needs of airlines are adjusted, then the production volumes of the Il-96-300 will also be adjusted without fail.
In April 2022, the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, reported that the production of the Il-96 would not be massive . And the head of the UAC, Yuri Slyusar clarified that the production of IL-96 is planned at the level of two machines per year.
“For the “ninety-sixth” cars, we still keep the bar at the level of two cars per year, but this car, of course, is less in demand by airlines, so far the forecasts for its demand are rather modest, but we will nevertheless make two cars a year, ” - Slyusar said in an interview with the Russia-24 TV channel.
The program also does not include the Russian-Chinese CR929. At the end of June, the relevant Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov announced that Russia is now reducing its participation in the project, pointing out that the project "is not going in the direction that suits us, in principle." At the same time, he refused to comment on the future of the project and the possible withdrawal of the Russian side from it or the continuation of participation and development.