Air Leisure (Cairo International) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (Zhukovsky) for four SSJ 100/95s with options for six more. Russia's Minister of Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov, said the first aircraft would be delivered by the end of the year.
The deal reportedly includes the possibility of establishing a joint-venture with an undisclosed third party which would see Air Leisure acquire up to forty-five SuperJets over a three-year span to transport Russian tourists to Egypt's Red Sea resorts such as Sharm el Sheikh, Marsa Alam, and Hurghada.
Should this agreement materialize, the first five planes could potentially be delivered as soon as April, with Sukhoi opening an MRO facility in Cairo International to support operations within the next two years.
Manturov added that talks with EgyptAir (MS, Cairo International) are also ongoing concerning an order for up to forty SuperJets including twenty firm and twenty option airframes.
"Of course, the deal depends on many factors, in particular financial conditions, which we are working through with our financial institutions," he told Rossiya 24 news. "But most importantly, there is good will and a clear program of which aircraft will be replaced, in this case, by our Sukhoi Superjet."
During preliminary talks in Egypt last year, Egyptian Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Hossam Kamal said the SuperJets would likely be exchanged for EgyptAir Express' fleet of twelve E170s.
