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Ilyushin Il-96

Ilyushin · Widebody · In limited service

The four-engine flagship of Russian aviation.

Length63.94 m
Wingspan60.11 m
Range10,000 km
MTOW270 t
Typical seats300
Built33
Our numbers

Derived metrics

Computed by aircraft.fyi from the core specification — see how we calculate these.

Seats per metre#13 of 35
4.69 seats/m typical seats ÷ fuselage length
Range per tonne#54 of 65
37.0 km/t maximum range ÷ MTOW in tonnes
Span-to-length ratio#23 of 68
0.94 wingspan ÷ fuselage length
Weight per metre#20 of 68
4.22 t/m MTOW ÷ fuselage length
Range in hours#16 of 65
11.1 h maximum range ÷ cruise speed
Weight per seat#9 of 35
900 kg MTOW ÷ typical seats
Sense of scale

How big is it, really?

The Ilyushin Il-96's wingspan, against things you already know the size of.

Ilyushin Il-9660.11 m
Football pitch (width)68 m
Blue whale25 m
New Routemaster bus11.2 m
You (probably)1.75 m
Specification

The numbers

Length (Il-96-400)63.94 m
Wingspan60.11 m
Height15.70 m
MTOW (-400)270,000 kg
Range (-300)≈10,000 km
Typical seats≈300
Engines4 × Aviadvigatel PS-90A
First flight28 September 1988
Built≈33

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Last verified: 2026-07-14 · Spot an error? business@luck.fyi

The story

What makes it different

The Il-96 is a four-engine, wingletted widebody that first flew in 1988. It arrived just as the airliner market was opening to worldwide competition, and only around 33 were completed.

Its most famous role is as Russia's presidential aircraft — the Il-96-300PU — with a small fleet operated by the Special Flight Detachment for state transport. Cubana flew it as the last airline operator.

Production has recently restarted with the stretched Il-96-400M, which at 63.94 metres is one of the longest aircraft ever built. Whether it returns to regular airline service is the open question for the type.

Common questions

Ilyushin Il-96 — the short answers

How fast is the Ilyushin Il-96?
The Ilyushin Il-96 cruises at about 900 km/h — roughly 486 knots, or 559 mph.
How far can the Ilyushin Il-96 fly?
The Ilyushin Il-96 has a maximum range of about 10,000 km (5,400 nautical miles, 6,215 miles). At its cruise speed that is roughly 11.1 hours in the air.
How many people does the Ilyushin Il-96 carry?
A typical Ilyushin Il-96 carries 300 passengers. Exact figures vary with the operator's chosen configuration.
Is the Ilyushin Il-96 still in production?
Status: In limited service. The Ilyushin Il-96 first flew in 1988, and about 33 have been built.
How big is the Ilyushin Il-96?
The Ilyushin Il-96 is 63.94 m long with a wingspan of 60.11 m and a height of 15.7 m. Its maximum takeoff weight is 270,000 kg.
Variants

The Ilyushin Il-96 line

Il-96-300
The 55.35 m original — the presidential fleet.
Il-96-400T / -400M
The 63.94 m stretch — freighter and relaunched passenger version.
Operators

Who flies the Ilyushin Il-96

The top 2 operators by fleet size, of ≈3 worldwide — the rest are aggregated below. Counts marked ≈ are approximate, verified 2026-07-14.

RURossiya Special Flight DetachmentThe presidential and state fleet — including the -300PU command aircraft.≈8
CUCubana de AviaciónThe last airline operator — availability varies.≈3
Other operatorsA handful of Russian state and cargo aircraft.≈2