TO stay aloft in the face of Western sanctions on Russia, cargo airline Volga-Dnepr has focused on supporting supply chains with Russian-built freighters, reports New York's FreightWaves.
Volga-Dnepr's AirBridgeCargo (ABC) is no longer flying its 17 Boeing 747 freighters, including 13 late-model 747-8s plus a Boeing 777 because of US and European sanctions.
Subsidiary Atran Airlines, which handled regional flights to Europe and Asia with four US Boeing 737-400 and two 737-800 narrowbody aircraft, has also been grounded.
But Moscow signed Volga-Dnepr to a RUB9.5 billion (US$144 million) contract to provide cargo transport to and from a handful of Asian and Middle Eastern nations, aboard its five Ilyushin-76TD-90 quad-engine jets.
Volga-Dnepr also has a dozen Soviet-era An-124 super freighters in its fleet, which continue to operate on a limited basis for project logistics customers.
The company has shut down its two subsidiaries that rely on Boeing aircraft because of sanctions on its leased aircraft and the revocation of airworthiness certificates by aviation registries in Bermuda and Ireland.
Volga-Dnepr will provide regular air cargo service to Moscow and other cities from China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Vietnam.
Co-founder Alexey Isaykin said the company is also thinking about expanding its fleet with the purchase of additional An-124 and Il-76 aircraft, which will keep manufacturing workers in the country's beleaguered aviation industry employed.
'We are creating a new logistics corridor' for nearly everything Russia needs, said Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
Volga-Dnepr previously cooperated with the city's transport department in 2020 to deliver personal Covid protective gear.
SeaNews Turkey
Volga-Dnepr's AirBridgeCargo (ABC) is no longer flying its 17 Boeing 747 freighters, including 13 late-model 747-8s plus a Boeing 777 because of US and European sanctions.
Subsidiary Atran Airlines, which handled regional flights to Europe and Asia with four US Boeing 737-400 and two 737-800 narrowbody aircraft, has also been grounded.
But Moscow signed Volga-Dnepr to a RUB9.5 billion (US$144 million) contract to provide cargo transport to and from a handful of Asian and Middle Eastern nations, aboard its five Ilyushin-76TD-90 quad-engine jets.
Volga-Dnepr also has a dozen Soviet-era An-124 super freighters in its fleet, which continue to operate on a limited basis for project logistics customers.
The company has shut down its two subsidiaries that rely on Boeing aircraft because of sanctions on its leased aircraft and the revocation of airworthiness certificates by aviation registries in Bermuda and Ireland.
Volga-Dnepr will provide regular air cargo service to Moscow and other cities from China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Vietnam.
Co-founder Alexey Isaykin said the company is also thinking about expanding its fleet with the purchase of additional An-124 and Il-76 aircraft, which will keep manufacturing workers in the country's beleaguered aviation industry employed.
'We are creating a new logistics corridor' for nearly everything Russia needs, said Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
Volga-Dnepr previously cooperated with the city's transport department in 2020 to deliver personal Covid protective gear.
SeaNews Turkey
