Volga-Dnepr confirms intentions to purchase 20 Boeing 747s

The Russian aviation holding Volga-Dnepr Group converted a memorandum that was signed last year into a firm contract, which calls for the delivery of 20 wide-body Boeing 747-8Fs. The deliveries, which will be taken either through leasing or direct purchase, are expected to be completed over the next six years.

The producer has announced that four aircraft have already been handed over, one of which was delivered to Volga-Dnepr’s recently created British subsidiary, Cargologicair and is displayed at Farnborough 2016 air show. Last year, it was announced that AirBridgeCargo, another subsidiary of Volga-Dnepr, received two of such aircraft, bringing the number of aircraft of this type in the carrier’s fleet to eight, which is the amount indicated in the current register of the Federal Air Transport Agency. It is expected that the new Boeing 747-8F in the fleet of AirBridgeCargo will replace the ageing Boeing 747-400F.

A spokesperson for Boeing said that the delivery will be distributed between AirBridgeCargo and Cargologicair. Over the next three years, the British airline’s fleet will increase to five aircraft. Seeing as it currently operates one Boeing 747-400F and a Boeing 747-8F, the carrier is expected to receive three more aircraft, one of them being a Boeing 747-400ERF (with an increased maximum takeoff weight), the delivery of which is scheduled for February 2017.

In addition to the delivery the aircraft, Volga-Dnepr agreed with Boeing to provide logistics support to the OEM using its Boeing 747-8F  and Antonov An-124 freighters. The contract is for 10 years.

According to experts, the deal with Volga-Dnepr Group will support Boeing 747-8 program. Since 2013, Boeing has regularly slowed the production rate of this aircraft. In particular, in September 2016, the company plans to once again reduce the output of the Boeing 747-8 to six aircraft per year.