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Superjet tests export market

Interjet, the Mexican low-cost airline that received its first Superjet 100 regional plane this week, may determine whether the Russian-built model succeeds outside its home territory, the project’s Italian partner said.

“The key factor to success in the market for the Superjet is good operations with Interjet,” Giuseppe Giordo, chief executive officer of Finmeccanica’s aviation unit Alenia Aermacchi, said in an interview at the Paris Air Show.

Interjet, Mexico’s second-largest airline, is the first carrier outside the former Soviet Union to operate the aircraft. Technical glitches and production delays have damped demand and caused tension between Rome-based Finmeccanica and United Aircraft of Moscow, with the Italian manufacturer saying June 17 it may terminate the venture without a reorganisation.

Interjet sees the 93-seat Superjet, delivered to the company on June 18, as playing a “key role” in the Mexico City-based airline’s bid to win market share from larger national competitor Grupo Aeromexico by serving smaller routes more effectively, CEO Jose Luis Garza said.

“This market is poorly served in Mexico,” he said in an e-mail. “It’s basically a single operator with monopoly conditions charging very high prices. Interjet, a more efficient company with lower costs, will improve competition, reduce prices and as a consequence benefit the regional economy.”

The planes flying in Mexico meet higher technical standards and have an upgraded interior versus those initially delivered, Alenia chief Giordo said.

The Superjet venture will also work closely with the airline to provide technical support, he added.