Aircraft

By Helen Massy-Beresford in London
Additional reporting by Vladimir Karnozov in Moscow

A rebranding of the Russian Regional Jet (RRJ) could be on the cards as Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (SCAC) looks at ways to improve the 75 to 95-seater’s appeal in the international market.

SCAC last week firmed up its strategic partnership with Italy’s Finmeccanica, which sees its Alenia Aeronautica arm invest up to $250 million in the programme and take a 25% stake in the Russian manufacturer.

Alenia Aeronautica chief executive Giovanni Bertolone tells Flight International that the RRJ’s branding is “one aspect to be discussed” by the programme partners and that a rebranding is “a possibility”. Bertolone adds that “we are in an evolutionary phase”, and that the issue will depend on what emerges from discussions with airlines.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Moscow, Finmeccanica general director Giorgio Zappa said that Finmeccanica will invest $200-250 million into the RRJ, of which about $100 million will be injected into SCAC’s capital base as payment for the 25% stake, while the remainder will go towards the industrial effort.

As part of the effort to increase the RRJ’s appeal outside Russia, Bertolone says that discussions are underway about where in Europe “it would be most opportune to locate” a joint-venture operation that will look after the legal aspects of sales and technical support for the new aircraft. Zappa said that Finmeccanica has initiated talks with EADS – its partner in the ATR joint venture – about tapping into the regional airliner manufacturer’s sales and customer support experience, for the RRJ.

Alenia’s team will produce components and systems, handle the certification of aircraft under European standards and manage aspects such as purchasing, sales and technical support for airlines.

First flight of the RRJ is set for September 2007.