The Ilyushin Il-96 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-96) is a Russian four-engined long-haul wide-body jet airliner designed by Ilyushin in the former Soviet Union and manufactured by the Voronezh Aircraft Production Association in Voronezh, Russia. It is powered by four high-bypass Aviadvigatel PS-90 twin-spool turbofan engines. As of 2026, the Il-96 is used as the main Russian presidential aircraft. The type's only remaining commercial operator in passenger service is Cubana de Aviación, while Sky Gates Airlines operates two cargo variants.
Development
Initial development Despite representing a huge advance in technology for the Soviet Union, the serviceable but ultimately disappointing performance of the Ilyushin Il-86, especially in regards to range spurred Ilyushin to begin planning for the long range Il-86D variant and the design was completed in 1976. The primary changes from the base Il-86 included slightly longer wings and increased fuel capacity. The Il-86D project was eventually cancelled, but it laid the foundation for the Il-96, which is essentially a heavily modified and upgraded version of the older design. The new Il-96 featured larger wings, a shorter fuselage, new modern avionics and systems, and the new PS-90A high-bypass turbofan, which greatly decreased fuel consumption and increased overall performance. The prototype was first flown 20 September 1988 and the aircraft was certified in 1992. Aeroflot began passenger service in 1993.
Development since the 2000s In June 2005, the Volga-Dnepr Group signed a 15-year financial agreement with Ilyushin Finance Corporation (IFC) to take delivery of two new-build Il-96-400T aircraft, to be operated by Volga-Dnepr's subsidiary AirBridge Cargo. The first was due to have been delivered in late 2006. The Cuban Government newspaper Granma announced on 3 January 2006 the first official flight of the Cubana Il-96-300, from Havana to Buenos Aires, Argentina. On 11 August 2009 Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Khristenko announced that manufacturing of the Il-96-300 would cease. In particular, the Il-96-300 had been deemed inferior to counterparts from Boeing and Airbus, and the manufacturer could not arrange commercially viable mass production, making only one aircraft per year. The Il-96-400T cargo version was to remain in production. On 9 October 2015, it was announced that an updated version of the Il-96 may be produced. This decision was taken due to the current diplomatic situation between Russia and the West, and the dependency of the Russian aerospace industry on Airbus and Boeing. In September 2017, the Vice President of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation Aleksandr Tulyakov announced the start of development of the 250–280 seat, wide-body long-haul aircraft in partnership with Chinese builders. The aircraft is to be a development of the Russian-designed IL-96 and will be assembled in China. A new engineering center will be built in Russia to undertake technical and electronics production. As of 2018, Ilyushin also had been studying a new variant of airliner based on Il-96, powered by two Aviadvigatel PD-35s rated at 340 kN (76,000 lbf), developed by 2025 from the PD-14, or powered by foreign powerplants. The goal would be to reduce fuel consumption and maintenance costs. In March 2022, after international sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War, the CEO of Rostec Sergey Chemezov mentioned that relaunching large scale production of the Ilyushin Il-96 and Tupolev Tu-214 was being considered. By 2026 two decommissioned Il-96 aircraft had been restored to service in response to the country's shrinking civilian airliner fleet.
Design
The Ilyushin Il-96 is a shortened, long-range, and advanced technology development of the Soviet Union's first widebody airliner, the Ilyushin Il-86. It features supercritical wings fitted with winglets, a glass cockpit, and a fly-by-wire control system. The basic Il-96-300 is equipped with modern Russian avionics integrating six multi-function colour LCD displays, inertial and satellite navigation systems, and a Traffic Collision Avoidance System (including mode "S"). It allows the airplane to be operated with two crew members. The avionics correspond to modern requirements on international routes in Europe and North America (RNP-1) and allow navigation and landing under ICAO CAT III/A conditions. The Il-96 is offered in three main variants: the Il-96-300, Il-96M/T and Il-96-400. The Il-96-300 has a standard passenger capacity of 262 seats in a two-class configuration with 18 seats with a seat pitch of 54 inches (140 cm) and 244 seats with a pitch of 32 inches (81 cm), of which typical seating is 3–3–3 (layout), but low density seating is possible with 2–4–2 (layout). Galleys are positioned on the upper deck, and the lower deck can accommodate 18 LD-3 containers and crew rest areas.
Operational history Russian flag carrier Aeroflot began service on December 29, 1992, with the type allowing nonstop flights between Moscow and cities such as Havana or San Francisco, a role previously reserved for the aging Il-62, as the newer Il-86 did not have the required range to make the journey nonstop. Aeroflot would operate 7 airframes with all being delivered in 1992-1994, with their last operational example RA-96007 being retired and bought by Cubana in 2015.
Variants There are two variants of the Il-96. The Il-96-300 was launched in 1985 with introduction into service in 1993. The Il-96M was launched in 1993 with introduction into service in 2000.
Il-96-300
The Il-96-300 is the initial variant and is fitted with Aviadvigatel (Soloviev) PS-90A turbofans with a thrust rating of 16,000 kgf (157 kN, 35,300 lbf). Development started in the mid-1980s while the first prototype flew on 28 September 1988. Range with 262 passengers and fuel reserves (for holding 75 minutes at an altitude of 450 m [1,480 ft]) in a two-class configuration is about 11,000 km (5,940 nmi), allowing flights from Moscow to US West Coast cities, a great improvement over the Ilyushin Il-86.
Il-96-300PU
A highly customized version of the Il-96-300, called the Il-96-300PU (PU in Russian stands for command post), is used as the primary aircraft in the Russian presidential aircraft fleet. A total of five planes were used by Russian presidents Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin, and by Dmitry Medvedev as VIP planes. The VIP aircraft are operated by a special squadron of the Rossiya Airlines. The Cuban leadership uses the IL-96-300.
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