International debut of Antonov-158

Today, on July 16, 2010, the new generation 99-seat AN-158 regional jet flew from Kyiv to London to take part in the Farnborough – 2010 Air Show to be held within a period from July 19 to 25. According to Dmytro Kiva, President – General Designer of ANTONOV Company, "We present to the international aviation community a competitive advanced technology product, which meets all modern safety and ecological requirements as well as the demands of potential operators. This is guaranteed by the combination of technological achievements of leading enterprises involved in the AN-158 programme and the vast experience of ANTONOV in the creation of regional aircraft". The comfort of the AN-158 passenger compartment compares favourably with all the most modern airliners and the jetliner may be operated to and from a wide range of airports worldwide.

The AN-158 performed its maiden flight on April 28, 2010. On that day it started programme of the flight tests. Till present, the aircraft performed more than 30 flights with total duration of 70 hours. In these tests stability, controllability, technical and flight characteristics of the aircraft were checked. It is planned to complete the certification test programme till the end of this year.

ANTONOV Serial Plant is launching the AN-158 serial production in cooperation with partners from Russian Federation and other countries.

Participating at Farnborough Air Show, ANTONOV intends to negotiate with representatives of enterprises of aviation industry and the aircraft operators from different countries to promote ANTONOV' products and services to the international market. It is planned to sign several agreements.