O-Bay to purchase 100 regional Russian aircraft

O-Bay Aircraft Co, a privately owned general aviation company based in Henan province, will purchase 100 Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft, known as the SSJ-100, for $3.54 billion from Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co, according to an agreement the two sides signed on Saturday.

In return, the Russian aircraft manufacturer will jointly establish an assembly line and delivery center of SSJ-100 aircraft with O-Bay in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, the agreement states. However, some business insiders expressed reservations about the program.

The SSJ-100 is a regional aircraft with at most 108 seats. It took its first commercial flight in 2011. It is also the first internationally designed civil aircraft made by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, the parent company of which is Sukhoi Co - a well-known fighter aircraft builder based in Russia.