RUSSIA's Volga-Dnepr is reported to be making 100 job cuts and taking one or two of its Antonov An-124 aircraft out of service. Volga-Dnepr currently employs 1,500 staff.
According to Russian Aviation Insider (RIA), the carrier has reduced its An-124 fleet from 12 to eight aircraft over the past two years and will now place up to two more in storage.
Although Volga-Dnepr confirmed to London's Air Cargo News earlier this month its plans to lay off staff in response to tough air freight market conditions, it did not put a number on the redundancies nor did it mention plans to put aircraft into storage.
The RIA report also stated that the airline is planning to carry out upgrades to four of its An-124s to raise their capacity to 150 tonnes, up from 130 tonnes. Work on one of the aircraft has already been finished.
'As we are in market downturn stage and the forecast for next year is not rosy, yes, we are running an optimisation and staff reduction programme,' the company stated.
In August, the Volga-Dnepr Group announced that it would restructure its management team after a tough first six months of the year with performance below expectation.
The group said that the changes come as its three carriers registered a year-on-year cargo volume decline of six per cent to 2.6 billion freight tonne kilometres in the first half.
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According to Russian Aviation Insider (RIA), the carrier has reduced its An-124 fleet from 12 to eight aircraft over the past two years and will now place up to two more in storage.
Although Volga-Dnepr confirmed to London's Air Cargo News earlier this month its plans to lay off staff in response to tough air freight market conditions, it did not put a number on the redundancies nor did it mention plans to put aircraft into storage.
The RIA report also stated that the airline is planning to carry out upgrades to four of its An-124s to raise their capacity to 150 tonnes, up from 130 tonnes. Work on one of the aircraft has already been finished.
'As we are in market downturn stage and the forecast for next year is not rosy, yes, we are running an optimisation and staff reduction programme,' the company stated.
In August, the Volga-Dnepr Group announced that it would restructure its management team after a tough first six months of the year with performance below expectation.
The group said that the changes come as its three carriers registered a year-on-year cargo volume decline of six per cent to 2.6 billion freight tonne kilometres in the first half.
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