Volga-Dnepr Airlines

completed

Volga-Dnepr Airlines (VDA) is a private Russian registered airline, headquartered in Ul’yanovsk, Russia, and engaged in worldwide charter transportation of superheavy and outsize cargo. Principal cargo types transported during 2000 included aerospace equipment, humanitarian aid shipments, heavy industrial equipment, and consumer goods. VDA operates other affiliated companies to support its international air cargo operation, and employs about 1000 personnel.Currently VDA operates nine Antonov An-124-100 ‘Ruslan’ cargo aircraft. The An-124-100 is the largest freighter aircraft in the world and has unique mission capabilities, in that no other aircraft can carry cargo shipments of comparable size or weight. VDA’s fleet is the largest commercial fleet of An-124-100 currently in service. The An-124-100 was developed in the Soviet Union as a heavy, long haul military aircraft. The An-124-100 was first introduced into operation in 1982 and since the late 80s, has been used for commercial purposes. Currently the An-124-100 is the world’s largest transportation airplane in operation - it is more than 50 m long, with a cargo hold which makes it possible to carry up to 120 tons of cargo, and has a range of 5,000 km with maximum payload. The proposed project is to expand VDA’s fleet by acquiring two additional An-124-100 aircraft and four D18T engines. One aircraft will be acquired through the completion and subsequent purchase of one An-124-100 airframe at the Aviastar-SP Joint Stock Company (Aviastar) aircraft manufacturer in Ul’yanovsk. VDA has a sufficient number of spare engines in stock to equip this aircraft. The second aircraft will be obtained from sources such as the secondary market or by means of civil conversion of a military aircraft belonging to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. The additional four engines will be needed for this second aircraft.