Will Anjani Air Service Become the Launch Customer for Ilyushin Il-96?

[dwibowo83]

Jakarta - Indonesia Rumors have been circulating that Anjani Air Service will become the launch customer for Ilyushin Il-96. The rumor started to appear after the visit of Anjani Air Service's CEO to Moscow on Thursday, April 2^nd 1987, to Sunday, April 5^th 1987. One of Anjani's Airbus A300-600 was pictured at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport, even though Anjani does not serve any flights to Moscow. Later, it was discovered that the CEO and his entourage met with several high-ranking Soviet officials, including the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev.

The Ilyushin Il-96 was announced in March 1987. It is the first Soviet-made widebody aircraft capable of flying long-distance routes. Compared to its predecessor, the Il-86, the Il-96 offers a vast improvement in fuel consumption and flying distance. It is also priced competitively against Western-made aircraft.

A spokesperson for Anjani, however, declined to comment on the Il-96 issue. Instead, he mentioned the cooperation between Anjani and the Soviet Authority to improve the Almaty airport. Anjani currently uses the Almaty Airport as a technical transit point for all its flights from and to Europe. The improvement to the airport will include modernizing the gates specifically used by Anjani's passengers, adding airport bridges, and modernizing the convenience shops inside the airport.

It will be interesting to see if Anjani Air Service signs the deal on the Ilyushin Il-96. Anjani Air service has already signed the agreement on the Airbus A330/340; in fact, Anjani is the launch customer ordering 27 planes. Il-96 will serve the same function as the A330/340. Having two different types of planes will increase Anjani's maintenance and training costs. However, Anjani Air service used to operate Soviet-made aircraft, the Tupolev Tu-114. It was Anjani's first long-range aircraft before the arrival of the Convair CV-990.

Meanwhile, the continued use of the Almaty Airport itself has been an uncomfortable subject for the Indonesian Government, which has a cold relationship with the Soviet Union since the abortive communist coup in 1965. It is no secret that the Indonesian government has been pressing Anjani to switch its transit point to a neutral country, something that Anjani has not done up until today. As for now, Anjani will continue to use the Almaty Airport, and it remains to be seen if they will acquire the Il-96.