Russia delivered the third passenger aircraft Antonov An-158 to Cuba on Wednesday, as part of a bilateral agreement for the purchase of aircraft worth some $650 million.
The 97-seat plane was delivered Wednesday in Moscow under an option agreement, between Russian company Ilyushin Finance and the Cuban Aviation Corporation, on the delivery of three Antonov An-158 passenger aircraft signed last Febraury in the presence of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Cuban President Raul Castro.
Founded in 1929, Cubana Airlines uses today such equipment for domestic flights to the country's eastern provinces like Guantanamo and Santiago de Cuba, as well as international flights to neighboring nations like Dominican Republic and Mexico, according to company sources.
Previous reports also indicate both sides signed a second agreement for the delivery of three [Ilyushin] Il-96-400 airplanes in their passenger version and two [Tupolev] Tu-204SN airplanes after their trials are completed and these planes are certified.