OREANDA-NEWS. On the occasion of the Alta Airline Leaders Forum 2013 SuperJet International and Powerjet held their SSJ100 Program Media Briefing at the presence of Mr. Jose Luis Garza, CEO of Interjet.

SJI CEO, Nazario Cauceglia and Claude Poulain, President and CEO of Powerjet, provided press with an update on the Sukhoi Superjet 100 Program and its SaM146 engine.

Main focus was the SSJ100 entry into service with the Mexican airline Interjet, first Customer in the Americas.

“We are very proud to enter the Latin American market with Interjet - stated SuperJet International CEO, Nazario Cauceglia - LATAM is a market with strong and robust growth rates. The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is quickly becoming the LATAM preferred regional solution and it is the ideal complement to narrow-body operations. The SSJ100 offers improved economics thanks to its advanced technology on board, lower fuel consumption and lower direct operating costs, along with an unbeatable passengers comfort. The SSJ100 has in fact the largest cabin with 5 abreast cross-section among the current available regional aircraft” added Cauceglia.

“In the first months of operations, the SSJ100 dispatch reliability has been better than expected, showing an average of over 99%. With two aircraft flying with a heavy utilization (average of over 9 hours daily with peaks of 11) since Sept 18, the third aircraft will enter into service next Monday - states Mr. Jose Luis Garza, Chief Executive Officer of Interjet - we selected the SSJ100 for its superb comfort (93 seats with 34” pitch), its DOC and fuel efficiency better than the competitors, its high technology and the new modern engine SaM146.

The full fly by wire system is more advanced than one of the Airbus A320 and the overhead bins provide the passengers with more space if compared with our A320s. We are also satisfied with the Customer Services provided by SuperJet International which is in line with the best international standards”.

Latin America and Africa currently represent the two SJI's markets with the most interesting short-term opportunities for the SSJ100 aircraft.