Thursday, August 29, 2024 As a result, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 now plays a critical role in connecting Russia’s two largest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, a distance of less than 340 nautical miles (630 km). While the SSJ100 is typically utilized for domestic routes, its reach extends beyond, as evidenced by past operations such as a two-hour overnight flight from Oslo to Moscow Sheremetyevo.
The frequency of SSJ100 flights between Moscow and St. Petersburg has increased dramatically, reflecting the aircraft’s growing importance. Rossiya Airlines, a subsidiary of the Aeroflot Group, predominantly operates these flights using a two-class configuration with 87 seats, rather than the all-economy 100-seat variant.
This choice helps mitigate the capacity shortfall caused by sanctions limiting access to Western aircraft. In August 2019, prior to the conflict, the SSJ100 accounted for just 45 one-way flights on the Moscow-St. Petersburg route, representing only 2.
6% of total services, according to OAG data. By August 2021, this had increased to 121 flights (7.4%), highlighting a growing reliance on the SSJ100 even before the war’s impact fully materialized.
The numbers soared following the onset of the Ukraine war. In August 2022, just months after the conflict began and as Russian airlines started dismantling Western aircraft for spare parts, the SSJ100 operated 317 one-way flights (16.5%).
By August 2023, this number had climbed to 865 flights (44.9%), meaning nearly hal.