Boeing’s move to work with Antonov comes as the world’s aircraft giants aggressively forge joint ventures with makers of regional jets.

Boeing’s move to work with Antonov comes as the world’s aircraft giants aggressively forge joint ventures with makers of regional jets. On July 5, Boeing announced a joint venture with Brazil’s Embraer. Last October, Airbus acquired a majority of Canada’s Bombardie C Series jets. In Ukraine, Aviall will focus on supplying parts and after sales service to: the An-148, a regional jet carrying 68-85 passengers; the An-158, a stretch version for 100 passengers; and the An-178, a military transport capable of carrying up to 18 tons of cargo, including sea containers. Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan predicts that in the 2020s there will be a boom in domestic air travel in Ukraine, a nation larger than France.