Sukhoi Superjet: Flying Russia’s Homemade Plane

February 1, 2024February 1, 2024 Koen 0 Comments

This review covers my Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Bucharest, which was operated by a Sukhoi Superjet, Russia’s new homemade plane. (Editor’s note: This trip took place in 2018, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the suspension of flight traffic between Russia and the EU)

Flying back home with Aeroflot

After my amazing Uzbekistan trip and a quick hop across the border to the city of Shymkent in Kazakhstan, it was time for me to return home.

The main reason why I hopped across the Uzbek-Kazakh border to Shymkent was the fact that it offered the cheapest flights home.

Whereas one-way flights from Tashkent back to my home city of Bucharest in Romania were all around the $600 mark, flights from Shymkent were a lot cheaper.

I managed to find a cheap $228 deal on Aeroflot with a short connection time at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport.

Another advantage was the opportunity to earn valuable Air France/KLM FlyingBlue miles and points with these Aeroflot flights, although the biggest advantage was the fact that this itinerary gave me the opportunity to fly on the Sukhoi Superjet 100.

mother earth monument ordabasy square shymkent kazakhstan visit guide — *Shymkent, Kazakhstan. ©Paliparan*

al-farabi statue shymkent youth centre communist relief kazakhstan travel guide — *Statue of Al-Farabi in front of the Shymkent Youth Centre, which has a fabulous Soviet relief on its façade. ©Paliparan*

koen shymkent kazakhstan — *Yours truly standing in front of a Kazakh Independence Monument in Shymkent. ©Paliparan*

Shymkent Airport

I still had to wait until the last flight of my itinerary to try out the Sukhoi Superjet, as my first flight from Shymkent to Moscow was operated by a bog-standard Airbus A320.

Shymkent’s small airport is just a short 20 to 25-minute drive from the city centre.

The awfully early departure at 5.40am meant that I only had a short night of sleep, but at least this itinerary allowed me to be back home in the early afternoon.

Shymkent boasts a typical Soviet-era regional airport, meaning it’s rather ancient and chaotic.

When I arrived at the airport, the check-in desks were still not staffed, despite it being two hours before departure.

Once the check-in agents finally arrived, chaos ensued, with people pushing forward without even making some proper queues.

Following check-in, I had to navigate through two security checks and passport control in what was a weird maze of extremely narrow corridors.

The gate area of Shymkent airport doesn’t leave much to be desired either, resembling more of a waiting area at a hospital or dentist clinic, and lacking any café or shops.

Shymkent (CIT) to Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO)
Aeroflot – Flight SU1951 – Airbus A320
Economy Class – Seat 7A
Departure: 5.40am – Arrival: 7am
Flight time: 4h20m – Distance: 1,707 miles

cit svo — *It takes well over four hours to fly from Shymkent to Moscow. ©Great Circle Mapper*

From Shymkent to Moscow

Unsurprisingly, it was again a mad rush to the boarding stairs once the doors of the bus opened.

The flight from Shymkent to Moscow was operated by an Airbus A320, a plane on which I have flown before with Aeroflot, albeit in business class.

Seeing the comfy Aeroflot business class seats was a great throwback to my fantastic Siberia trip, made possible by an Air France error fare.

This time however, I had to settle down in economy class, which actually isn’t all that bad with Aeroflot.

Indeed, this flight to Moscow was about as pleasant as an economy class flight can get.

The seat was quite comfortable, and I was served what is a great quality meal for economy class, featuring pancakes with berry compote, yogurt, cold cuts, a croissant, and a chocolate bar.

After the initial drinks and meal service, the crew returned to offer coffee or tea.

aeroflot business class — *The cabin of an Aeroflot Airbus A320. ©Paliparan*

aeroflot flight review economy class shymkent moscow — *The tasty breakfast meal on my Aeroflot economy class flight from Shymkent to Moscow. ©Paliparan*

Moscow Sheremetyevo

After an on-time arrival, the challenge of changing terminals at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport began.

Unfortunately, it was not as easy as during previous Sheremetyevo transits.

After waiting for an eternity in a queue at one of the passport control booths, I was promptly turned away by the officer, who was unable to scan my passport due to an issue with his computer.

He then suddenly closed his passport control booth altogether, and directed me and some others to the front of the long queue next to us to the dismay of the people already waiting in line.

The situation didn’t improve much once I passed through and eventually found myself in Terminal F, as the already subpar Sheremetyevo business lounges were incredibly overcrowded this morning.

It was one of those occasions where the lounge toilets were even more disgusting than the public ones in the terminal.

Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO) to Bucharest (OTP)
Aeroflot – Flight SU2034 – Sukhoi SuperJet 100
Economy Class – Seat 12A
Departure: 9.10am – Arrival: 11.25am
Flight time: 3h15m – Distance: 931 miles

svo otp — *The flight from Moscow to Bucharest took just over three hours. ©Great Circle Mapper*

Sukhoi Superjet cabin

Finally, the flight I had been looking forward to the most today was about to take place.

My Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Bucharest was operated by a Sukhoi Superjet 100, Russia’s homemade regional jet manufactured at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant in the far east of the country.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 was designed to compete with other regional jets like Bombardier CRJs and Embraers, and Aeroflot typically deploys these planes on lower-yield domestic and international routes.

Alongside the Irkut MC-21, the Sukhoi Superjet is essentially one of the few passenger planes that were newly designed and built in Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 had its maiden flight in 2008 and entered commercial service for the first time with Armavia, Armenia’s now-defunct flag carrier.

Several Russian airlines have included the Sukhoi Superjet 100 into their fleets, with Aeroflot and its subsidiary Rossiya Airlines boasting the largest number in service, totalling 78 planes.

Priority boarding was strictly enforced for this flight and I was one of the first passengers to set foot in the cabin.

Business class on Aeroflot’s Sukhoi Superjet 100 is two abreast, with proper recliner seats being used.

In Aeroflot’s economy class on the Sukhoi Superjet 100, the seat configuration is 2-3, and if you are a solo passenger, it pays off to select one of the duo seats as there is one person less in your row.

aeroflot sukhoi superjet cabin business economy class — *The cabin of Aeroflot’s Sukhoi Superjet 100. ©Paliparan*

aeroflot sukhoi superjet 100 business class — *Business class seats on the Sukhoi Superjet 100. ©Paliparan*

aeroflot economy class sukhoi superjet 100 — *The economy class cabin on the Sukhoi Superjet 100. ©Paliparan*

Sukhoi Superjet economy seat

The seat on the Sukhoi Superjet was fairly comfortable and the seat pitch is about what you’d get on average in economy class.

However, it won’t take you long to discover some drawbacks and even design faults in the Sukhoi Superjet 100.

First of all, the way the seats are placed (at least the two abreast seats on the port side of the plane) is kind of weird, as a big metal bar which fixes the seats in front of you to the floor is interfering with your legroom.

Because of this oddly placed seat structure, it is also impossible to stow a large bag underneath the seat in front of you.

It’s a major design flaw if you ask me and highly annoying – the person who thought this was a good way to fix the seats to the floor should be sent to the gulag!

Additionally, the windows appeared to be positioned a bit lower than on Western-made aircraft, and I found myself having to lower my head significantly to look out of the window.

When it comes to passenger quality, I much prefer the Embraer as a regional jet!

seat pitch sukhoi superjet 100 aeroflot — *Average seat pitch for economy class on the Sukhoi Superjet 100. ©Paliparan*

sukhoi super jet 100 design fault — *The metal bar that fixes the seats to the floor is weirdly placed, as it interferes with your legroom and makes it impossible to place a bag underneath the seat in front of you. ©Paliparan*

sukhoi superjet window — *The windows on the Sukhoi Superjet appeared to be positioned a bit lower than on Western-made aircraft. ©Paliparan*

Safety

Before your flight, it’s always a good idea to take out the safety card from your seat pocket and to read it carefully.

It’s an even better idea when flying on a plane manufactured in Russia, given the country’s historical challenges in maintaining a strong aviation safety record.

Since its introduction, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 has experienced three hull loss accidents, resulting in a total of 86 fatalities.

Considering all the sanctions imposed on Russia since the country’s decision to invade Ukraine and commit war crimes, I am quite curious about how the safety record will develop in the near future, especially now that spare airplane parts can’t be purchased from the EU and US.

In 2022, Sukhoi unveiled plans for a new iteration of the aircraft featuring a newly designed body and electronics, excluding previously used Western components and replacing them with parts designed and built in Russia.

Also the PowerJet SaM146 engines used on the Sukhoi Superjet were ditched given that these were made by a joint venture between a French and Russian company.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 will be equipped with new aircraft engines, the Russian-built Aviadvigatel PD-8s.

Time will tell whether these new components will be of the same quality.

sukhoi superjet 100 safety card — *Safety card of the Sukhoi Superjet 100. ©Paliparan*

Flight report

Back to the actual review of my Aeroflot flight to Bucharest on the Sukhoi Superjet 100!

Take-off was smooth and there were some nice views out of the window over the Moscow suburbs on this rainy autumn day.

Soon after we reached cruising altitude, the crew started to serve drinks and meals in economy class.

Just like on my previous flight from Shymkent to Moscow, there was a choice of pancakes or eggs, and this time I went for the latter.

The meal was mediocre at best, with both the quality and quantity of the food falling far short of the tasty pancake dish I received on my Shymkent-Moscow flight.

Another significant issue with the Sukhoi Superjet 100 in terms of passenger comfort became apparent during the flight: The engines on this plane are rather noisy!

Nevertheless, it was a perfectly enjoyable flight, thanks to the novelty of being on board a Sukhoi Superjet.

sukhoi superjet 100 aeroflot review — *View upon take-off from Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport. ©Paliparan*

moscow suburbs flight — *Flying over the Moscow suburbs. ©Paliparan*

aeroflot flight economy class breakfast sukhoi superjet 100 — *Breakfast served in economy class on my Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Bucharest. ©Paliparan*

economy class cabin sukhoi superjet 100 — *The economy class cabin during the flight. ©Paliparan*

Landing in Bucharest

Upon arrival, there were some breathtaking views of sunny Romania as the plane flew directly over the Carpathians on its approach to Bucharest.

We eventually landed on time – and more important safe and sound – in Bucharest.

This time around I was happy to see that we were disembarking by stairs, as it finally gave me the opportunity to take a picture of the Sukhoi Superjet 100, something which was impossible from the jetbridge at Sheremetyevo.

carpathian mountains flight — *Flying over the Carpathian Mountains. ©Paliparan*

bucharest approach — *On approach to Bucharest. ©Paliparan*

sukhoi superjet 100 wing — *Making a sharp turn towards the left. ©Paliparan*

final approach bucharest otopeni airport — *On final approach towards Bucharest Otopeni Airport. ©Paliparan*

bucharest otopeni airport landing — *Landing at Bucharest Otopeni Airport. ©Paliparan*

bucharest otopeni airport landing aeroflot sukhoi superjet 100 — *Touchdown on the southern runway of Bucharest Otopeni Airport. ©Paliparan*

aeroflot sukhoi superjet 100 bucharest airport — *Disembarking the Sukhoi Superjet at Bucharest Airport. ©Paliparan*

Conclusion

I had a fun day flying with Aeroflot from Shymkent to Moscow and Bucharest in order to experience the Sukhoi Superjet 100.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100, Russia’s first newly designed and domestically produced passenger plane since the breakup of the Soviet Union, appears like any other modern regional jet but falls short in terms of passenger comfort.

I found the plane to be quite noisy, and the bar attaching the seats in front of me to the floor interfered with my legroom, making it impossible to even place a bag underneath the seats.

I’m curious to see what the future holds for the Sukhoi Superjet 100, especially now that Russia has chosen the path of war and is facing economic sanctions from the EU and US, preventing the import of critical technology and spare parts.

End of the trip report

The Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Bucharest marked the end of my autumn trip to Uzbekistan.

If you missed any of the previous chapters of this trip report, you can find the trip report index below.

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