Azerbaijan to firm MC-21 lease once flight-tests start

Azerbaijan Airlines has tentatively signed to lease 10 Irkut MC-21-300s from Russia’s Ilyushin Finance.

The aircraft would be delivered over the course of 2019-20, the leasing company states.

Azerbaijan Airlines would take the MC-21s in a 159-seat configuration including 20 in the business-class cabin.

It has not specified an engine selection but the type will be tested with Pratt & Whitney PW1400Gs and Aviadvigatel PD-14s.

The agreement is the subject of a letter of intent which emerged after Irkut rolled out its first assembled example of the twinjet, fitted with the Pratt & Whitney powerplant.

Ilyushin Finance says the agreement for the MC-21s covers operating leases for 12-year terms.

It adds that a “concrete” deal will be concluded once the flight-test and certification campaign is under way.

Ilyushin Finance previously agreed to take 50 MC-21s and says it is in talks to supply the twinjets, through operating and finance leases, to “several Russian and foreign carriers”.