The continued delays have caused Alitalia to cancel its order for 20 Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft. The Italian airline has announced it would order Embraer aircraft instead.
“We would have preferred that option precisely because of the involvement of an Italian company and so we delayed our choice by six to 12 months,” said Rocco Sabelli chief executive of Alitalia. “But the fundamental problem is that as of today, Sukhoi has not taken to the skies.”
Although the Russian-built aircraft first flew in 2008, it has not yet received full European safety certification. Sabelli said Alitalia was worried about making sure “it did not fall to us to launch a new airliner” and that the airline “couldn’t procrastinate any longer on the choice, and it seemed to us that the airliner that has yet to fly was not compatible with our timeline.”
Alitalia has opted to lease Embraer 170 and Embraer 190 jets between 2011 and 2012.