April 27, 2009 at 12.00PM a mid-range cargo plane TU-204SE departed for Cuba from Domodedovo, a Moscow airport
This aircraft is built at Aviastar-SP aircraft plant in Ulyanovsk, which is a member of Obyedinennaha Aviastroitelnaya Corporation (United Aircraft Corporation). The construction took place to the order of the Russian Leasing Company Ilyushin Finance Co. - the major exporter of civil aircraft manufactured in Russia.
It is the seventh plane Ilyushin Finance Co. passed on to the Cuban airline Cubana de Aviacion since December 2005. To be more precise, three long-range passenger airplanes Il-96-300, two mid-range passenger airliners TU-204-100 and one TU-204SE cargo are already in use on the Island of Liberty. A service center for Russian aircraft in Latin America also has been established in Cuba with the assistance of Ilyushin Finance Co.
Airplanes are supplied according to the guidelines of the industrial exports financial (guarantee) support program of government of Russia. The government of Russia provides these guarantees to the banks issuing loans to buyers of goods manufactured in Russia. The major credit grantor for the foreign buyers to date is Bank of Development and Foreign Trade of Russia (Vneshekonombank).
In order to finance the supply of new TU-204SE, an agreement to loan Cuba $ 44.5 million was signed between Vnesheconombank and the Aviaimport SA of Cuba on January 30, 2009. The agreement was signed during Raul Castro’s (Chairman of State Council and the Council of Ministers of Cuba) official visit to Moscow.
Leasing Company Ilyushin Finance Co. (member of Obyedinennaha Aviastroitelnaya Corporation - United Aircraft Corporation) is the largest aircraft leasing company in Russia that supplies Russian-made civil aircraft series IL-96, Tu-204 and AN-148 to the domestic and international markets. Their major customers besides Russian airlines are Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and Syria.