The SuperJet is produced by Russia's Sukhoi Company famous for its fighter jets, through a subsidiary Sukhoi Civil Arcraft Company in which Italy's Finmeccanica has a 25% stake through its subsidiary Alenia Aeronautica. Components and advisory services for the aircraft involve U.S. and European aviation experts including Boeing Co., Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace and Honeywell.

Superjet CEO Franzoni bullish on sales

SuperJet International is a joint venture between Alenia Aeronautica (51%) and Sukhoi Holding Company (49%) to ensure the market success of the new Sukhoi Superjet 100 family of regional jetliners.The company is responsibile for Marketing and Sales for the Western markets

The next landmark for the program is the aircraft certification, which should happen by next spring in Europe, SuperJet International CEO Alessandro Franzoni said at the Farnborough Airshow. Once the aircraft is certified in Europe, it can be delivered to airlines in the region including customer Italy's ItAli Airlines.

In the U.S., the certification process with the Federal Aviation Administration only starts once a domestic airline has ordered it. The order for 30 aircraft agreed with Bahamas aircraft leasor Pearl at Farnborough is seen as a reassurance for potential US customers.

Franzoni is concentrating on potential customers in Latin America and Africa. There are two main reasons for that. First, air traffic in those regions has held up during the economic downturn and the flow of investment has been stable. Second, the local carriers'aging fleets aren't well-suited to the regional networks they are keen to develop.

"It's a very good match with us," said Franzoni.

Deliveries to Aeroflot, Armavia on schedule

At Farnborough, regional Indonesian carrier Kartika placed a firm order for 30 SuperJets, followed by another 12 for Thailand's Orient Thai Airlines then 30 aircraft to Pearl,  a new Bermuda-based leasing firm and finally 10 aircaft for Gazprom subsidiary GazpromAvia.

The first deliveries of the aircraft, to Armavia and Aeroflot, are still on track to take place before the end of the year.

Sukhoi 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.

There are currently eight SuperJets under production and six aircraft undergoing either flight or ground tests.

must get additional Federal Aviation Administration certification to be sold in the United States and Canada, said Yury Basyuk, deputy managing director of Saturn.