Russian Cargo Airlines Expand Fleets
Russia’s largest cargo airlines, Aeroflot Cargo and Volga-Dnepr, have announced plans to expand their fleets. Aeroflot Cargo will buy six Il cargo jets worth $350 million. The latter company will acquire nine new Boeing 747s worth $1 billion. The move is sure to make the two airfreight carriers more competitive on the world market.
Aeroflot Cargo has entered talks with the Ilyushin Finance Co. leasing company to acquire six Il-96-400T cargo aircrafts, Andrey Goryashko, director general of Aeroflot Cargo, a subsidiary the Aeroflot passenger airline, told reporters on Monday. This jet with the capacity of 92 metric tons has not as yet been certified, and its price is estimated at $60 million. Aeroflot Cargo currently runs nine DC-10s and is soon to receive three MD-11s. The first three Il-96s may be delivered in the first half of 2008.
Volga-Dnepr, Aeroflot Cargo’s main rival, said in a statement on Monday it would sign “a strategic” cooperation deal with American Boeing on March 12. Volga-Dnepr, which currently operates four Boeing 747s plans to buy nine new Boeing 747-8 and Boeing 747-400 ERF planes. The contract is worth $1 billion. The first delivery is reportedly due in 2009.
The announcements will surely whip up rivalry between the two companies. After the first nine months of 2006, Volga-Dnepr carried 95,000 tons of cargo, beating the market’s long-time leader Aeroflot Cargo by 3,500 tons.
Experts believe that the fleets of a dozen of aircrafts will also make the two airlines more competitive on the international market. To compare, Luxembourg-based Cargolux, the world’s airfreight leader, currently operates 14 Boeing 747-400F.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 06, 2007
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