American aircraft maker Boeing is denying claims it has cut plans to make more of its planes in Russia. Sources close to the company say Kremlin interference in Russia's air industry has frightened off both Airbus and Boeing.
In an interview with Business Today, the president of Boeing CIS, Sergey Kravchenko, began by predicting the Russian aviation market this year can continue growing 10%, twice the global average. We’re all concerned with what’s going on with the oil prices but surprisingly Russian air traffic continues to grow. There was outstanding growth last couple of years, double digit growth. Is there any truth in the rumours Boeing may cut its Russian participation for political fears? That's not true. We have a multi-decade plan of mutually beneficial, long-term cooperation, and we follow this plan. Without Russian engineers, Russian technologies and Russian titanium, and it's not raw materials it's the final parts, the 787 would not become so good a product. What's your forecast for the Russian market? We estimate this market to be one of the top markets in civil aviation, about $70 bln. In the next 20 years Russia will need about 1,060 new aeroplanes.