The Superjet 100 project is a family of medium-haul passenger aircraft developed by a leading Russian manufacturer, Sukhoi, in cooperation with the U.S. and European aviation corporations, including Boeing, Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace and Honeywell.
"North America is an important market segment for an efficient and modern 100-seater plane like the Sukhoi Superjet 100," said Alessandro Franzoni, Chief Executive Officer of Superjet International.
The company said in a news release that the office will be run by John Buckley, vice president for business development.
Sukhoi, which is part of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), plans to manufacture at least 700 Superjet 100s, and intends to sell 35% of them to North America, 25% to Europe, 10% to Latin America, and 7% to Russia and China.
The first Superjet 100 was rolled out from Sukhoi's final assembly shop at Komsomolsk-on Amur in September 2007. The first flight was successfully accomplished in May 2008.
The first two aircraft are currently undergoing test flights with a third aircraft scheduled to join the flight test program in spring 2009. The certification plan calls for Russia civil certification by November 2009, followed by EASA certification in 2010 and FAA certification thereafter.
