On September 28, it will be 36 years since the inaugural flight of the wide-body aircraft Il-96-300, which became a symbol of reliability and technological advancement in Russian civil aviation.
The Il-96 was designed to replace the Il-86, which was also built at Voronezh until the 1990s. The Il-86 was a similar-sized aircraft, but its range was far from impressive. The base version could transport 350 passengers on routes of up to 4,000 kilometers. A total of 106 Il-86s in all variants were built, including four for the military as Airborne Command Posts. The first Il-86 was built in 1976, with the last in 1997.
Serial production began in 1979 with a batch of five aircraft, with an average of six planes produced per year, peaking in 1983 and 1985 with 10 and 11 Il-86s, respectively. After assembling six Il-86s in 1993, serial production essentially ended, with only one aircraft built in both 1995 and 1997 from previously existing reserves. By then, serial production of the Il-96 had already started.
The Il-96 first took to the skies in 1988. During the project phase, the aircraft evolved from the Il-86, initially referred to as the Il-86D. The aircraft significantly increased its range to 9,000 km, accommodating 300 passengers. It was equipped with new engines, the PS-90A, and there was even a version with American Pratt & Whitney PW2337 engines in 1993 offering better performance, though it never went into serial production. The main versions of the Il-96 are the Il-96-300, which was introduced in 1988; the Il-96-400, introduced in 2008, with a flight range of up to 13,000 km, and its cargo version, the Il-96-400T, as well as the Il-96-300PU for the Russian government aviation squadron. In 2023, the only Il-96-400M built so far began its test flights. Besides Russia, the only other operator of this aircraft is Cubana, the state airline of the Republic of Cuba.
Let’s now discuss the production of the Il-96 in Voronezh. Like many large-scale projects, especially those affected by the 1990s, production of the Il-96 was much lower than that of the Il-86. Between 1988 and 1995, only 1-2 units were produced per year. In 1997 and 1999, one was built each year, and none were produced in 1996, 1998, or from 2000 to 2002. Between 2003 and 2007, 1-2 aircraft were built annually, none in 2008, and two in 2009. Following a period of no production in 2010, the next three years saw the construction of one aircraft annually, with no production in 2014. In 2015 and 2016, one Il-96 was produced per year, followed by a four-year gap until 2021, when two aircraft were built, none in 2022, and one in 2023. From 2024, the plan is to produce two Il-96-300 aircraft annually as the primary modification. In total, 33 aircraft were produced between 1988 and 2023, with at least 15 still flying as of 2024.
Although the numbers are modest, who is currently ordering the “ninety-six”? Essentially, it is the state itself that decided to maintain the production of long-haul aircraft and make it somewhat systematic, avoiding idle years and preserving the competencies of the aircraft plant’s personnel. For 2024, producing two new Il-96s annually is a positive outcome.
Looking ahead, it is worth noting that the largest Il-96 is currently absent from Russian passenger flights. Although it runs in Cuba, no Russian civilian carrier utilizes it, with the exception of the government’s aviation squadron, which is the primary operator. Until at least 2030, the Il-96 is the only option in this sector. Sanctions have now shut off access to equivalent long-haul Boeings and Airbuses, which had higher fuel efficiency, but, in terms of safety, the Il-96 is significantly superior, owing mostly to its “weak point”—four engines rather than two, as found on similar foreign aircraft. Projections indicate the introduction of the new high-power PD-35 engine by 2028, which will pave the way for the production of a new wide-body passenger aircraft after 2030. Is it going to be a two-engine version of the IL-96, as mentioned recently?
Meanwhile, efforts are underway to conserve the Il-96 experience, with the hope that the newly built planes will eventually serve as passenger ferries in civilian aviation. After all, the notion that “Boeings are superior” is more of a myth—if given state subsidies, airlines will fly whatever the government demands, as the government effectively owns the aviation sector. All that remains is to choose an airline that will continue this aircraft’s legacy in Russian civil aviation.
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