Volga-Dnepr expands fleet with two more AN-124-100 freighters 

by Payload Asia

Volga-Dnepr Group has signed the finance lease agreement with JSC Sberbank Leasing to acquire two An-124-100 Ruslan freighters. Sergey Shklyanik, group senior VP said: “The AN-124-100 aircraft acquisition goes in line with the Group Strategy 2020 which provides for the fleet extension with Russian and foreign-made aircraft.”

Dennis Gliznoutsa, VP sales at Volga-Dnepr Airlines, said: “Two more Ruslan freighters shall secure the Airline’s leadership in the global outsize and super-heavy air transportation market. Great knowledge and expertise as well as broad maintenance infrastructure is required to operate this aircraft successfully. Volga-Dnepr Group is proud to have all of these prerequisites in place; for over 25 years we’ve been using the advantages of this great aircraft worldwide. We are confident that by extending our fleet we receive even more flexibility to fit the demands of our customers.”

volga-dnepr AN-124
Until the B747-8F, the An-124 was, for thirty years, the world’s highest aircraft gross weight production cargo airplane and second heaviest operating cargo aircraft, behind the one-off Antonov An-225 (a greatly enlarged design based on the An-124). The An-124 remains the largest military transport aircraft in the world.

Volga-Dnepr Group is the world’s leader in outsize and heavy air cargo market with the market share of 62 per cent.  As the charter cargo arm of the Group, Volga-Dnepr Airlines operates a fleet of twelve AN-124-100 and five IL-76TD-90VD freighters which are compliant with current and prospective ICAO requirements thus providing airlift worldwide without any restrictions.