Experts say that demand for such planes is high in developing countries.
Ukraine’s Antonov aircraft designer and Russia’s Ilyushin Finance Co. announced on July 21 at the Pair Air Show at Le Bourget that they had inked joint contracts worth $300 million to supply 10 An-158 short-haul passenger aircraft to Latin American countries in 2012-2014.
The contracts mark a major success for the recently forged Ukrainian-Russian partnership to jointly produce, market and sell Antonov designed aircraft.
Ilyushin Finance claims to have amassed definitive purchase orders and options from Russian and foreign customers for 150 An-148 and An-158 model aircraft it total.
Ukraine and Russia have recently agreed to jointly produce the aircrafts and are considering closer cooperation in their aviation sectors, which were closely integrated in Soviet days.
The 85-seat An-148 has a range of 5,000 kilometers. The An-158 can carry 99 passengers at a range of 2,500 kilometers.
The An-158 made its Paris Air Show debut this week.
In a note to investors, Kyiv-based investment bank Dragon Capital said news of the contract “bodes well” for Zaporizhya based turbine manufacturer Motor Sich, “currently the sole producer of engines for the An-148 and An-158 planes.”
It implies a “stable order flow in the medium term. We maintain our positive outlook on Motor Sich and reiterate our Strong Buy recommendation on the stock,” Dragon added.
