VIP-configured SSJ100s for Russian government agencies

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) airliner debuted at Jet­Expo 2014, but is not present at this year’s exhibition. Nevertheless, one example of its VIP version has already been operated successfully in the interest of the Russian government. Before the end of the year, four more VIP-configured examples of the type will be delivered to Russian government agencies. Vitaly Romanyuk, CEO of the VIP interior designer Vemina Aviaprestige, has told Show Observer that two of the airliners will be added to the fleet of the Rossiya government air detachment, and the other two, with convertible cabins supporting the quick installation of medical modules, will be delivered to the Ministry of Emergency Relief. All the four aircraft will be fitted with airborne government communications systems. Vemina currently has 12 Russian-made aircraft (SSJ100s and Tupolev Tu-214s and Tu-204s narrowbodies) in its hangars in various phases of interior completion. Romanyuk particularly mentions two SSJ100s for the King of Thailand. The company is currently finalizing the interior design with the Thai government; the first of the two aircraft is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2016, followed by the second one before the beginning of 2017. Thailand is believed to have decided against national cultural motifs in the interior design, choosing instead to order a conservative scheme usually selected by European customers. Interior customization will be done at Vemina’s production facility in Zhukovsky, Moscow Region. Vemina has prior experience outfitting aircraft for heads of states and governments: it installed VIP interiors into two airliners for Russian president, two for Polish president, one for each the heads of Egypt and Kazakhstan, and one for the Tajik government. To date, the company has outfitted more than 100 aircraft. A new interior takes four to six months on average to design, provided that Vemina has previously worked on aircraft of the same type. Otherwise, the process may take up to one year, Romanyuk says. One more SSJ 100 in VIP configuration will be operated by Comlux Aviation bizav operator that now customizes the aircraft interior at its completion facility in Indianapolis, IN.