MNA � An official of Iran's Aviation Companies Association said Iranian airlines will launch talks with Russia over Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) aircraft.�The Russian company will introduce its product to Iranian airlines on Tuesday December 13 and negotiations on purchasing the Russian-made aircraft will kick off afterwards,� said Maghsoud Asadi-Samani.

He underlined that buying SSJ100, in view of its conditions and advantages, remains as a feasible option for Iranian airlines who will make proper measures after the Tuesday event.

�Iranian people hold a negative mindset towards Russia�s Tupolev aircraft,� recalled the official adding �Sukhou Superjet 100 however enjoys a special technology as it has been manufactured in partnership with several European companies like Italy and France.�

Asadi-Samani noted that the Russian plane has up to 108 passenger seats and remains as a favorable option to majority of Iranian airlines.

He further pointed to the continuation of talks with Being and Airbus stressing that the models on 17 Airbuses to be purchased through Lease-Purchase Contract will remain unknown until the deal becomes finalized.

Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC) had previously announced readiness to sell SSJ100 aircraft to Iran affirming �in case a sales contract is inked, the possibility for Iranians to enter the production process will be investigated.�

Nevertheless, Russia cannot be the final decision maker on sales of Sukhoi Superjet 100 to Iran though Russian media have announced earlier that Tehran and Moscow have reached primary agreement in the course of SSJ10 talks.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a modern fly-by-wire twin-engine regional jet with up to 108 (all economy) passenger seats. With development initiated in 2000, the airliner was designed and spearheaded by Sukhoi, a division of the Russian civil aerospace company (UAC), in co-operation with several foreign partners.

Designed to compete internationally with its An-148, Embraer E-Jet and Bombardier CSeries counterparts, the Superjet 100 claims substantially lower operating costs.

The total accumulated flying hours of all SSJ 100 in five years equals to 171 702 flight hours or 117,769 flight cycles. The average time of flight was 1 hour 28 minutes, which is a good result on regional routes, for which it was created. In addition, it can operate a maximum of six flights per day in all Iranian airports given the diverse geographic conditions.