Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum, Alexandrovsky said the entire SSJ 100 fleet could be phased out if the government does not fund re-engining. "If re-engining is not subsidized, there will be a gradual retirement of the fleet at all companies operating the SSJ 100," he said, as reported by Kommersant.

The re-engining program involves replacing the Russian-French SaM-146 engines with domestically produced PD-8 units. After sanctions were imposed in 2022, French company Safran withdrew from its joint venture with the United Engine Corporation, leaving the Superjets in need of a near-complete overhaul.

According to Kommersant's estimates, replacing the engine on a single aircraft could cost 2.1–2.3 billion rubles. Some of the newspaper's sources consider this figure understated: as early as 2024, the production cost of one PD-8 exceeded 1 billion rubles. Beyond the engines, the work would require replacing the nacelles, modifying the pylons and part of the wing, as well as the onboard wiring and auxiliary power unit systems.

Alexandrovsky did not specify the amount of state support needed. The Aeroflot group plans to compensate for retiring aircraft by redistributing flight hours across the rest of its fleet and through deliveries of new MC-21 jets.

Around 160 SSJ 100 aircraft are currently in service in Russia. Nearly half of them — 78 planes — belong to Rossiya Airlines, part of the Aeroflot group. Industry participants have discussed replacing engines on roughly 50 aircraft — about a third of the total fleet. Re-engining the remaining planes may prove pointless due to wear on other parts that also cannot be replaced.

Earlier, Vadim Badekha, head of the United Aircraft Corporation, said airlines themselves would pay for engine replacements and no budget funds were planned for this. The United Engine Corporation forecast that nearly the entire fleet of these aircraft could be grounded by 2030 as engine life is exhausted. Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) has extended the permitted service life of the SaM-146 and plans to do so again, though some aircraft are already idle.