Volga-Dnepr Group and Ilyushin Finance Co. have signed a contract for the purchase of two TU-204C freighters. The mid-range aircraft will be assembled at the Aviastar-SP production plant and are being purchased under a 15-year fi nancial lease arrangement. They will be operated by AirBridge Cargo Airlines, the group’s scheduled cargo airline, for domestic services from its hubs in Moscow and Krasnoyarsk in the Russian Far East. The fi rst aircraft delivery is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2008 with the second freighter joining the AirBridge fl eet in the fi rst quarter of 2009. Volga-Dnepr Group plans to purchase fi ve TU-204C aircraft by 2010.