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Ruslan joint venture disbanded

[ November 18, 2016   //   ]

Volga-Dnepr Airlines and Antonov Airlines are to dissolve their An-124-100 freighter joint venture, Ruslan International, on 31 December. The Russian and Ukrainian companies set Ruslan up in 2006 to jointly market their combined fleets and improve availability.
Volga-Dnepr said it would continue to operate a fleet of 12 of the aircraft, the largest of its kind in the world.
Volga-Dnepr Group will continue to collaborate with Antonov on technical aspects of airworthiness and flight safety support for its An-124-100 fleet.
In a statement, Volga-Dnepr’s vice president Strategic Management and Charter Cargo Operations of Volga-Dnepr Group, Tatyana Arslanova, said: “Our joint venture with Antonov Airlines has enjoyed 10 fruitful years and during this time we have been able to ensure our global customers have benefited from the unique operating capabilities of the An-124 whenever and wherever they have needed them. With the world’s largest fleet of An-124 freighters, Volga-Dnepr is committed to maintaining this capability for our customers with our own services, supported by our worldwide offices.”
Her colleague, vice president, development & special projects Dennis Gliznoutsa, added: “Volga-Dnepr is a private group of companies and a commercial enterprise that is proud to support major customers in industries across the globe. We are free to take commercial decisions that are in the best interests of our group and our customers and this represents a new and exciting chapter for Volga-Dnepr Group as we continue to build upon the reputation we have earned for service quality and reliability over more than 26 years.
“We have the advantage of the experience we gained from the end of our An-124 joint venture with HeavyLift Cargo Airlines in 2001, and the subsequent growth of our outsize and heavyweight cargo business in the international market. We emerged from that JV stronger and now, 15 years later, we will do so again. We now have an even more diverse and capable product offering for our customers under our ‘Cargo Supermarket’ concept, which combines our growing An-124, IL-76TD-90VD, Boeing 747 and 737 freighter fleet and logistics services.”

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