Antonov in talks with French producer Reims to cooperate on An-140

Published: 11/5/1999

Antonov has entered into discussions with France"s Reims Aviation that, according to the company, concern the joint manufacturing and marketing of the An-140. Alexander Kyva, a Deputy Director of Antonov, said that the talks, if successful, could lead to the two companies signing an agreement by April 2000, with the two companies cooperating on the design, production and marketing of the aircraft. Reims, while acknowledging that discussions are taking place, is considerably more reserved. It describes the talks as the start of a six-month feasibility study, which will focus on examining the aircraft"s marketing potential over the next three to four months. When asked about the proposed joint production of the aircraft, the French company declined to comment. Reims Aviation currently manufactures, under licence, a twin turboprop version of the Cessna Caravan, the F406, and, until 1989, was partially owned by Cessna, which provided many of its models. Based in Reims, the company employed 360 at the end of 1998, in aircraft manufacture, component manufacture and aircraft rebuilds. Russian producer, Aviakor, has begun assembling An-140s in Samara, according to Deputy Director, Vladimir Ryzhkov, who told Reuters that: "Over the course of 2000, eight An-140s will be assembled and from 2002 a total of 36 planes will be constructed annually". He added that: "The cost of the aircraft will be $6.0-8.0m, and we estimate demand at 500-600 planes, including 270 domestically". The company has considerably downgraded its expectation of Russian sales from the 430 aircraft reported in 1998. Aeroflot has, according to the manufacturer, placed an order for 50 An-140s, although Aeroflot will not confirm the order and declined to comment on any negotiations, which reportedly faltered last year with the financial crisis.Ten further aircraft have been ordered by an undisclosed Siberian airline, although the company has had an order for 15 aircraft from the government of Sakha-Yakutia in Siberia since mid-1998. Ryzhkov said that, in September, Aviakor signed a preliminary agreement with the Tyumen Oil Company for 25 aircraft. The twin turbo-prop An-140 can carry 52 passengers and has a flight range of 2,200 kilometres. Its production at Aviakor is being financed in part by metal producer, Siberian Aluminum, which now owns the aircraft producer.

Article ID: 1052