MOSCOW, June 7 (AVN) - The Atlant-Soyuz airlines, which is a leading cargo transportation company in Russia, has started renewal of its aircraft park, Valery Menitsky, chairman of Atlant-Soyuz board of directors, said on Thursday.
A programme elaborated by the company's specialists envisages gradual replacement of IL-76 Candid planes with new-generation aircraft of the IL-96 and TU-204 families, Menitsky told the Military News Agency. Altant-Soyuz has 19 Candids at the moment. In accordance with the framework agreement with the Ilyushin-Finance Co leasing company, it will be leased 10 new IL-96-400T and four TU-204S planes worth a total of USD450m.
According to Menitsky, renewal of the aircraft park will help boost profitability of cargo transportation, which cannot be achieved using IL-76 planes, as they were designed for transportation of tanks, IFVs, artillery systems and paratroopers, not commercial cargo. Besides, Candids do not match new requirements to the noise level that are imposed starting from 2002, which will inevitably reduce the number of countries where they can be used.
Atlant-Soyuz considered three possible schemes of aircraft park renewal. The first envisaged modernisation of IL-76 planes, their equipment with PS-90A engines and gradual transition to IL-76MF planes. The second provided for purchase of domestic aircraft originally optimised for commercial cargo transportation. The third suggested purchase of foreign Airbus and Boeing planes.
The second variant was chosen, as the first lacked prospects and the third was too expensive. Calculations showed that the cost of foreign aircraft's flight hour is 2.5 to three times higher that that of domestic planes.
Menitsky said that the company had transformed one IL-96-300 plane into a cargo variant and is working on another one. The transformation cost amounting to USD3m was covered out of the company's own funds.
However soon Atlant-Soyuz will use IL-96T for transformation into IL-96-400T (transport), as IL-96T is originally adjusted for automatic loading and transportation of all types of containers, including shipping ones. The plane's Pratt Whitney engines and Collins avionics will be replaced by domestic analogues, as the PS-90A engine made in the city of Perm, central Urals, is in no way inferior to foreign developments, Menitsky said.