MOSCOW. June 25 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian manufacturers of aircraft are to deliver about 200 new generation airliners to air carriers by 2008, Yury Koptev, Director of the Defense Industry Department in the Russian Ministry of Industry and Energy, told Interfax-Military News Agency Friday.
"According to the Ministry of Transportation, Russian air carriers require 139 long-haul and 50-70 short/medium haul airliners and cargo transports to renew their fleet by 2008," he said.
Russian aircraft industry is capable of satisfying the demand only if it "launches a mechanism of providing financial aid to the purchasers," Koptev said.
"The purchases are not organized now. Plants do not have free monetary assets to build aircraft and get payment for them by installments. Nor the air carriers have free money to pay for the aircraft at once," he added.
In his opinion, the only way-out under the situation is the soonest development of leasing patterns for aircraft, and increase in capitalization of state-owned leasing companies (Ilyushin-Finance and Financial Leasing Company - Interfax-AVN) from USD260m to USD1bn.
"At the same time we need to solve the problems of follow-on to the aircraft, as well as provide normal supplies of spare parts and establish specialized technical support centers," he said.
According to him, the price of new Russian aircraft today is almost two times less than that of foreign similarities.
"However, after the 9/11 attack Western air carriers entered the resale market with over 1,500 aircraft that are sold at dumping prices, twice as small as the prices of new Russian aircraft," he added.
According to him, the government shall support Russian manufacturers and airline companies primarily by organizing an effective sales system.