Volga-Dnepr Volume Falls 5 Percent

Cargo volume declined 5 percent in the first half of 2009 for Volga-Dnepr, Russia's biggest air cargo carrier.

The decline, to 835,000 ton kilometers in the six months to June 30, contrasted with an average fall of between 19 percent and 23 percent for rival Russian carriers, Volga-Dnepr said.

The group's scheduled cargo carrier, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, boosted traffic by 5 percent to 551,000 ton kilometers.

Measured by tonnage, AirBridgeCargo's volume was up 4.6 percent at 65,100 tons as it added three European destinations: Maastricht, Netherlands, Saragossa, Spain and Milan.

Volga-Dnepr's charter unit flew less freight, measured in ton kilometers, but its fleet of AN-124 freighters boosted cargo tonnage by 1.2 percent to 37,800 metric tons.

Long-term contracts now account for 61 percent of freight revenue, the company said.

Alexey Isaikin, president of Volga-Dnepr Group, said the carrier managed to remain stable in a challenging global air cargo market by sticking to its strategic goals and continuing to develop its "cargo supermarket" business model which offers shippers a mix of charter and scheduled logistics services.

Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarnard47@hotmail.com.