The first operators of the Russian MC-21 will have to ground their airliners annually due to the need for engine repairs
Chairman of the Board of Directors of S7 Group Evgeny Elin presented a very interesting slide during his speech at the Russian Industrialist forum. It indicates the average time between major overhauls of three engines: PS-90 (in various versions it is installed on the Il-96, Tu-204, Tu-214, Il-76 aircraft), PD-14 for the MS-21 and CFM56-5B /7B, which are used in the Airbus A318, A319, A320, A321 and Boeing 737 NG).
As you can see, in terms of overhaul life, the PD-14 is much inferior to French-American engines. This means that the first operators of the MC-21 will have to lay these airliners down annually due to the need to overhaul its engines.
It is interesting that the manufacturer of the PD-14, United Engine Corporation, could not say what the engine’s TBO life is now, but reported that by the time of the first delivery it will correspond to what is specified in the technical specifications (12.5 thousand hours). This is already much better than 3.6 thousand hours, but still almost four times worse than the CFM56-5B/7B. And given the current shortage of aircraft and how intensively the airliners will be used, the need to land the MC-21 to carry out major engine repairs, if not once a year, then once every two to three years, is guaranteed.