Groznyavia (Grozny) refused to accept delivery of two SSJ 100/95s, originally destined for Lao Central Airlines (Vientiane), from the United Aircraft Corporation after the latter refused to accept Russian roubles as payment, the airline's director general Khasan Salgiriev has revealed.
In an interview with Russia's vz.ru, Salgiriev said the collapse of talks with Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (Zhukovsky) in February had prompted his airline to mull the acquisition of A319-100s.
Had the deal with Sukhoi been finalized, the Superjets would have been delivered this spring.
"We had to refuse to sign the documents, because even at very low interest rates, the price for each plane was too high when paying in dollars," Vladimir Burak, the Financial Adviser to the CEO, said.
Burak also said the deal had been scuttled by the threat of non-receipt of subsidies from Russia. Russia offers financial incentives to airlines in order to promote the sales of its locally manufactured aircraft.
