Soviet era-built AN-124s still reign as world’s dominant super-heavy haulers.
The world’s biggest commercial cargo planes, the Antonov 124s, didn’t feel the downdraft of the most recent global recession.
The planes’ handful of operators mostly benefited from pre-existing long-term project cargo transport contracts, which often take several years to complete, and the continuous movement of large military and humanitarian equipment loads.
“The market for the AN-124-100 during the past two years was on a very high level,” said Mariya Musatova, group marketing manager for Russian carrier Volga-Dnepr Group. “Demand from governments as well as the commercial market was very strong. We even witnessed several periods when demand was much higher than supply.”
In 2010, Volga-Dnepr’s 10 AN-124s transported 70,104 tons, 15 percent more than the carrier lifted with these planes in 2009. “The beginning of 2011 shows a bit of a slowdown in the market, but it is only compared with the first half of 2010, which was one of the highest peaks in the history of the AN-124-100 market. There are expectations that by the end of 2011 the volumes will be on the level of 2010 or just a little bit lower,” she said.
Other AN-124 commercial operators in Russia are Antonov Airlines with seven planes and Polet Aviakompania with six. United Arab Emirates-based Maximus operates one AN-124, while Libyan Arab Air Cargo has two. The Russian military continues to operate a fleet of 10 AN-124s.
The slight decrease in AN-124 volumes is mostly attributed to shrinking demand from governments due to changes in military operations in the Middle East. “We are witnessing and expecting a substitution by commercial, non-military government organizations with the presence of commercial police forces as well as some construction companies,” Musatova said.
However, AN-124 operators like Volga-Dnepr have experienced a strong demand for the return of military and ancillary equipment back to their home countries from the Middle East, which is expected to cover 30 percent to 40 percent of inbound aircraft operations.
While government business cools, Musatova said Volga-Dnepr expects a 5 percent to 9 percent increase, and perhaps as high as 12 percent to 14 percent for certain industrial sectors, in AN-124-related volumes from commercial project shippers.
“This year we can see strong demand from the aerospace companies to transport helicopters, engines and satellite equipment, as well as for the oil and gas field industry and heavy outsize equipment,” Musatova said.
Cold Warrior. Twenty-five years ago, few shippers would have believed they would have access to the Soviet military’s AN-124 all-cargo planes for commercial heavy lift.
These flying giants, built during the height of the Cold War arms race between the former Soviet Union and United States, offer useful main-deck cargo holds of 991 cubic meters and maximum payloads of 120 tons, making them the biggest and most versatile planes on the commercial air freight market. Only the U.S. Air Force’s C-5 Galaxy comes close in size, but none of these planes are available for commercial transport. Boeing for the past decade has failed to sell a commercial version of its smaller, but highly successful, military C-17 cargo plane.
Only one other Cold War Antonov was bigger, the AN-225 which was built for the Soviet space program. The massive six-engine plane has a 250-ton capacity and could even transport Russian space shuttles on its back. A single AN-225, named Mriya, or Dream in Ukrainian, is in operation by Antonov Airlines, with a second never completed before the Soviet collapse. The plane made its first commercial flight from Europe to Oman in December 2001, and in August 2009, the AN-225 set an airlift record by transporting a 16.2 meter (53-feet) long, 190-ton generator from Frankfurt Hahn Airport to a gas plant in Armenia.
Another benefit of the AN-124 to large project cargo shippers is the ability to drive freight quickly on and off the planes through either the front or rear doors. There are also onboard cranes with 30 tons of lift to assist with loading.
Unlike its military counterpart, the commercial AN-124 underwent a number of changes to its wing mechanics, engines and onboard avionics to comply with international civil aviation requirements.
The Antonov Design Bureau, later renamed Antonov Airlines, became the first operator of the AN-124 commercial variant in 1989, operating then under Russian state-run airline Aeroflot. Shortly after, the company leased its planes to U.K.-based Air Foyle, expanding its reach to numerous global markets.
Volga-Dnepr was the first joint stock airline to operate in Russia. It officially began service in late 1992 after forming a joint venture with British airline Heavylift Cargo Airlines. This relationship lasted about 10 years before Volga-Dnepr was big enough to operate globally on its own.
Today, Volga-Dnepr and Antonov Airlines also work within a commercial cooperation, based at London Stansted Airport, for chartering their combined 17 AN-124s. It is estimated that Russian operators handle 75 percent of the heavy-lift ramp freighter market.
Quick Responder. The charter market has treated Russia’s AN-124 operators well. Volga-Dnepr, for example, routinely works with project cargo shippers such as Lockheed Martin/United Launch Alliance, Thales Alenia Space, Eurocopter, Space System Loral, Sikorsky Aircraft, General Electric, Rosoboronexport, British Petroleum, Exxon, Siemens, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The airline’s Engineering and Logistics Center provides shippers with door-to-door logistics services for outsize and heavy cargo transportation.
“The project business is very dependent on the economic situation of a country,” said Dennis Gliznoutsa, vice president of Volga-Dnepr’s sales and charter division. “Currently the dollar is cheaper than the euro, so we’re now moving more cargo out of the U.S. We’re also experiencing a strong demand for inter-American transport, such as between the U.S. and South America.”
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The AN-124’s other major customers include the U.S. and EU governments, and numerous humanitarian organizations.
In late July 2009, Volga-Dnepr’s AN-124s participated in one of the largest airlifts of combat equipment in U.S. military history from the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia where U.S.-flag roll-on/roll-off ships offloaded an entire Stryker brigade. The large eight-wheeled Strykers had to be transported by air to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Logisticians of the U.S. Transportation Command at the time chartered the AN-124s to fly the Strykers, three at a time, for an estimated 100 flights to complete the move.
In early April, Volga Dnepr transported a large pump from Stuttgart, Germany, to Japan to help cool the earthquake-damaged reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The 60 tons of equipment included a truck-mounted pump produced by German-based Putzmeister, which had a 62-meter boom enabling it to discharge water over the edge of the reactor buildings. In the weeks after, the carrier delivered several more pumps to the Fukushima from Stuttgart, Atlanta and Los Angeles using its AN-124s.
However, the AN-124s serve a niche business that’s expensive to maintain due to low aircraft utilization compared to other large all-cargo planes, such as the Boeing 747 and 777, which operate in scheduled long-haul services, explained Robert Dahl, managing director of Seattle-based Air Cargo Management Group, a provider of aviation consulting and airfreight market research.
Volga-Dnepr doesn’t operate solely on its AN-124 business and maintains a diverse air-cargo operation. Its AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) provides scheduled flights to Russia, Europe and Asia through a fleet of 11 B-747 freighters. The company also has three heavy ramp Illuysan-76 freighters in service.
Staying Current. There are also the hundreds of millions of dollars required to keep these aging planes current with the latest international aviation requirements. From 1998 to 2000, the AN-124 fleet went through an extensive overhaul to meet the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Stage IV noise reduction requirements.
Earlier this year, Volga-Dnepr committed $400 million toward its AN-124 fleet modernization. The program, which is expected to last through 2018, will include the upgrade of the plane’s avionics and engines to extend their operational life.
The investment will also increase the AN-124’s payload from 120 tons to 150 tons. However, Gliznoutsa said the capacity increase shouldn’t be viewed purely as allowing for more cargo weight onboard. Fuel is considered part of the payload as well. “With the additional fuel we take onboard, we gain an extra three hours of flight and this is more important in terms of savings,” he said.
There are also plans by the Russian carrier to buy newly built AN-124s. In 2008, Volga-Dnepr placed an order with Russia’s United Aircraft Corp., committing to purchase 40 new AN-124s. It’s expected that 20 planes will be delivered through 2020, followed with the rest by 2027. It’s forecast that the market for heavy-lift ramp freighters, such as the AN-124, will reach $3 billion by 2020 and increase to $7 billion by 2030.
In November 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev supported the AN-124 resumed production project. The plane was included that year in the country’s National Armament Program 2020, which specified the purchase of 20 new large military transport aircraft, an important step in supporting commercial production of the AN-124.
