Volga-Dnepr Airlines

Volga-Dnepr Airlines is the world's largest transporter of outsize and heavyweight air cargo. The airline has earned a 56% share of the global market in this specialist sector. With Scheduled and Air Charter licenses granted to Volga-Dnepr by more than 140 countries, the airline continues to prove its ability to provide air cargo solutions for customers to and from virtually any point of the globe.

10 Antonov AN-124-100 Ruslan aircraft form the backbone of Volga-Dnepr's fleet. Owing to its unique technical performance, the AN-124-100 is the unrivaled leader of the outsize and 'super heavy' air cargo transportation sector.

The overall size and volume of the aircraft's cargo compartment, its cargo capacity and flight range, enables the AN-124 to provide the perfect solution for Volga-Dnepr's customers' transportation challenges and allows the airline to carry up to 120 tonnes as a single unit. The 24-wheel undercarriage of the Ruslan enables the nose section of the aircraft to “kneel down” as required to facilitate loading and off-loading operations. It also allows the aircraft to operate to a wider variety of airports and airfields with different types of runway surfaces.

Volga-Dnepr's AN-124 aircraft feature two cargo doors at the front and rear of the fuselage. Each is equipped with a folding cargo ramp. The door dimensions correspond to the size of the cargo cabin. With its unique range of specially-designed loading equipment, Volga-Dnepr is able to transport outsize and 'super heavy' cargo within the required timeframes of its international customers and in the most efficient manner in full compliance with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

In anticipation of future market demand, the Volga-Dnepr Group initiated the design and construction of a new version of the aircraft, the АN-124-100М. This new aircraft offers an improved payload capacity up to 150 tonnes, increased maximum take-off weight, an extended flight range and has reduced the number of crew required to just four persons. The first upgraded Ruslan, constructed at the "Aviastar" Factory in Ulyanovsk will join the Volga-Dnepr Airlines fleet at the end of 2006.

http://www.vda.com.ru/eng/