A new airline from Volga-Dnepr? And new freighters?

MADRID — Volga-Dnepr Group is planning to launch a new airline based in Leipzig, Germany, with some of the twelve AN-124 freighters in its fleet. Slava Shakhov, a Commercial Manager at Moscow-based Volga-Dnepr Group, told Cargo Facts today that the company is planning to overhaul “at least three” of its An-124s – and that those […]

• JJ Hornblass
• November 29, 2017

Is Moscow the new Gulf?

As we have often pointed out in recent posts, growth in demand for air freight has stalled in the Gulf Region, with both Emirates and Etihad reporting low-single-digit year-over-year gains for much of this year. But 4,000 km to the north, Moscow-based carriers AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), and Aeroflot are racking up astonishing growth numbers. AirBridge, […]

• David Harris
• December 1, 2016

Demand growth continues in August

The International Air Transport Association released its air freight market analysis for August 2016, showing a 3.9% year-over-year increase in worldwide cargo traffic (in freight tonne kilometers flown). International cargo traffic, which accounts for 87% of total traffic, was up 3.5%. The IATA August result is in line with our prediction two weeks ago that […]

• David Harris
• October 5, 2016

More changes at AirBridge and Cargolux

The world’s two biggest all-cargo carriers both announced personnel changes at or near the top – the second time in recent weeks for both. Denis Ilin, the much-respected Executive President of AirBridgeCargo Airlines, resigned. In the last three years he led ABC to the best performance in the air freight industry, as the carrier’s cargo […]

• David Harris
• August 1, 2016

Volga-Dnepr confirms acquisition of 20 747-8Fs

At the Farnborough Air Show today, Russia-based Volga-Dnepr Group confirmed the acquisition of twenty 747-8 freighters from Boeing. The deal, which began as a Memorandum of Understanding signed at the Paris Air Show last year, also includes an agreement under which AirBridgeCargo and Volga-Dnepr Airlines (the scheduled service and charter airline subsidiaries of the Volga-Dnepr […]

• David Harris
• July 12, 2016

Volga-Dnepr to firm up 747-8F orders?

November may be the peak season for air freight, but July is the peak season for freighter aircraft orders. The big European air show that takes place every year in July (alternating between Paris and Farnborough) has long been used as a venue for showcasing major aircraft orders. Last year, in Paris, Boeing and Russia-based […]

• David Harris
• June 21, 2016

AirBridge steals the show in May

While many of the world’s major cargo carriers and airports reported lackluster results in May, a quick glance at the chart at right shows that one carrier – Russia’s AirBridgeCargo Airlines – continued its standout performance of recent years, with strong double-digit gains. But, given the gloomy results reported by most of the other big […]

• David Harris
• June 20, 2016

Stunning growth at ABC

AirBridgeCargo continues to report cargo gains other carriers can only dream about. Although worldwide growth in airfreight demand has stalled in 2015, AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC, the scheduled service subsidiary of Russia-based Volga-Dnepr Group) is posting astonishing numbers. The carrier said cargo volume was up 27% y-o-y in November to 50,000 tonnes. For the first eleven […]

• David Harris
• December 21, 2015