newstodate.aero
Mar 16, 2012 (newstodate): Falling cargo rates due to the general downturn in global cargo levels and increase in passenger numbers has seen the An-124 increasingly reverting to carrying heavy- and outsized cargoes for which it was designed, rather than the general cargo often carried in previous years.
This is one statement from Ruslan International, marketing and managing the combined Antonov An-124 fleets of its shareholders Volga Dnepr and Antonov Airlines.
During 2011, the UK-based company arranged 712 contracts for individual or multiple flights, up 21.5 percent on 2010, with the 17 aircraft under its management flying a total of 9,720 hours - up 13percent y-o-y.
Analysis of Ruslan Internationals operations for 2011 reveals that its customer base remained broad, while the range of cargo narrowed.
The company attributes this to rising fuel costs widening the gap between the cost of the An-124 and more conventional shipping methods; the imposition of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme - unlikely to be echoed by similar taxation on shipping in the foreseeable future - is set to exacerbate this situation.
The 2011 performance was much stronger than projected, largely as a result of the withdrawal of some NATO forces from Afghanistan, and also the Tsunami in Japan - in the aftermath of which Ruslan International was able to provide significant assistance.
This is one statement from Ruslan International, marketing and managing the combined Antonov An-124 fleets of its shareholders Volga Dnepr and Antonov Airlines.
During 2011, the UK-based company arranged 712 contracts for individual or multiple flights, up 21.5 percent on 2010, with the 17 aircraft under its management flying a total of 9,720 hours - up 13percent y-o-y.
Analysis of Ruslan Internationals operations for 2011 reveals that its customer base remained broad, while the range of cargo narrowed.
The company attributes this to rising fuel costs widening the gap between the cost of the An-124 and more conventional shipping methods; the imposition of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme - unlikely to be echoed by similar taxation on shipping in the foreseeable future - is set to exacerbate this situation.
The 2011 performance was much stronger than projected, largely as a result of the withdrawal of some NATO forces from Afghanistan, and also the Tsunami in Japan - in the aftermath of which Ruslan International was able to provide significant assistance.