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Russia's main home-grown passenger jet, the Sukhoi Superjet 100, conceived as a rival to Airbus, Bombardier and Embraer, has no confirmed orders this year beyond a long-standing deal with Aeroflot, sources said. The aircraft, which entered service in 2011 and was the first passenger jet built in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union, has had a troubled history despite the state pouring billions of dollars into its development. Last year, a Superjet crash-landed in Moscow, killing 41 people. Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, which is controlled by Russian state holding company Rostec, had hoped to sell hundreds. But slack demand and servicing problems and delays in sourcing spare parts, means only 142 of the planes are in use. Aeroflot, which currently has 54 Superjets in its fleet, is expected to receive up to 17 more this year. <br/>

Tarom has started taking delivery of a batch of ATR 72-600s it is receiving under a lease agreement with Nordic Aviation Capital. The operator disclosed last year that it was introducing 9 of the turboprop type to modernise its fleet. Tarom has unveiled a revised colour scheme for the new -600. ATR says the airline received the initial aircraft Wednesday. The airline plans to have completed the fleet upgrade by the end of this year. “We are going to be able to develop new routes and increase frequency and seat availability, while offering the highest levels of comfort and technology,” says CE George Barbu. Tarom is already an ATR operator, with older variants of the turboprop. Its modernisation programme has been caught up in a turbulent period of management at the airline. <br/>