Russia Launches a New All-Cargo Airline

AirBridge will become fully independent next year. It begins operations as a wholly owned subsidiary of Russia’s Volga-Dnepr Group, which recently tested a new AN-124-100 cargo carrier that features a 30% increase in payload capacity over older models, to 150 tonnes.

The AirBridge fleet is currently comprised of two Boeing 747-200 Freighters. Over the next six years, the airline looks to grow to a fleet of six Boeing 747s and six Russian jets.

Alexey Isaikin, president of Volga-Dnepr, says, “The launch of AirBridge Cargo is the next stage of the realization of our plan to build a group that offers global client a unique combination of the world’s two best freighters, the Boeing 747 and AN-124, supported by exceptional lower capacity aircraft like Ilyushin IL-76-96 and Tupolev TU-204.”

Executive Director of AirBridge, Stan Wraight, claims that, “The commencement of global scheduled cargo operations has begun and all our customers and partners can rely on our commitment to deliver a high quality and reliable service. I believe we have everything in place to make AirBridge Cargo one of the leading airlines in the world.”