Diamonite Aircraft Furnishings has won a tender to complete the Russian president’s new Ilyushin 96 aircraft in a head of state configuration. And, believes Diamonite chief executive and managing director David Cox, it may be the first of many contracts for Russian government aircraft the completion company receives.

“We obviously can’t give too many specifics away. But it we have got the order, and we will put in various meeting rooms, bathrooms, a bedroom and a lounge, and special galleys,” confided Cox.

The Il-96 is the Russian jumbo, the largest passenger aircraft produced in the country and around 14 have been produced. The interior of President Putin’s aircraft will, unusually, be created separately in the UK were Diamonite is based, and shipped out in a container to be united with the aeroplane in Russia.\r

The interior will be sent across once for fitting adjustments, returned to Britain for last adjustments, and then shipped again: The contract is for one year’s work.

“We have been working in Russia for ten years, and in that time we have set up a partnership with the former commercial director of Aviastar. He’s now moved up to Moscow and has a company called Afrus,” explained Cox. “In effect, he’s my Russian partner. He has a team of specialists and designers, who over the last eight years have been coming over here and working with us, to learn about western materials and manufacturing techniques: They are so far behind in materials. [Diamonite] have also sent teams over to Russia and done 45 aircraft in the last 10 years.

“We now have a team of 50 guys now actually in Russia, all trained up, and we will be sending a dozen more over to supervise the fit, but most of the work will be done by these Russian guys,” he said. The deal is mutually beneficial, it seems, because the Russians get to share Diamonite’s know-how, while taking care of Russian certification, which Cox believes a British company could not achieve on its own.

“We have designed and manufactured interior kits for the Tupolev 154 and 134, Yak 40 and 42, and the Ilyushin 62 and now the 96: The Il-96 interior is been created for this contract.”

The British media has said that the deal is worth £10 million for Diamonite: “That’s what they’re saying, we’re not saying anything,” said Cox, but he did admit that “it’s quite a coup for us.”

Putin’s personal transport might not be the only head of state completion Diamonite lands, hopes Cox: “Seven years ago we did five Tupolev 154s for Pukova, Aeroflot’s arm in St Petersburg, as a standard airline interior. The md of Pukova was Nikolai Shipil, and now is the director general of Air Russia, the presidential airline, which has 55 aeroplanes – that’s not as ostentatious as it sounds, because Russia is such a vast place that departmental ministers wouldn’t be able to get around otherwise.”

Cox recounted how he went across to Russia to tender for future work on Air Russia’s fleet. ”[Shipil] said, ‘I am very biased, I have worked with Diamonite before, and the quality of the work and design was great’. He said to me, ‘David, the [Tu 154s] aircraft are still in perfect condition, and as far as I’m concerned I would like you to do the job.’

He says he has been told that as long as the Il-96 conforms to the quality of work on the airline completion Diamonite did for Pukovo seven years ago, more work will be coming to the British company. The timing off this news is both welcome and ironic, according to Cox:

“We were doing a lot of work for Airbus in the late 80s and early 90s, and when the Gulf War came we lost a lot of work because everything stopped. At about the same time I was introduced to a company who were painting Russian aircraft. It’s quite ironic that now everything is happening again with this Afghan war, we have got a contract that is going to take us a year, so it puts us in a strong position, providing we do everything right...”