MOSCOW. Feb 25 (Interfax-AVN) - The Volga-Dnepr air carrier is restoring the production of the AN-124-100, the world's most powerful mass-produced transport plane, company chairman Alexei Isaikin said on Wednesday.
"Restoration of AN-124 plane production is among our current priorities," Isaikin told a news conference in Moscow.
A council of directors general will be convened to implement the project, he said. The council will involve representatives of the companies taking part in the plane's development, production and operation, namely the Antonov aircraft research and technical corporation, Motor Sich and Progress engine-building companies, the Aviastar mass-production plant, the Irkut research and production association, and Volga-Dnepr.
The Russian party has finalized and signed all documents related to the project. The Ukrainian party is expected to do so in the near future.
Volga-Dnepr Technical Director Viktor Tolmachev said the AN- 124 has a unique place on the cargo transportation market. "There are no analogies of this plane, and they are unlikely to appear in the next 20 years," he said.
As many as 23 civilian AN-124s are currently in operation. Their transportation volume amounts to about USD400m a year. According to experts, the current AN-124 fleet will no longer be able to meet the growing demand for air transportation in 2007. As many as 80 to 100 planes of this type will be required to meet market demands estimated at USD1.4bn by 2017.
"There is no other way to meet market demands except to restore mass production of AN-124 planes," Tolmachev said.
According to him, Volga-Dnepr is engaged in upgrading the current AN-124 fleet. The second modernization stage has been completed, and the third stage has been launched.
"We have never faced a ban on flights to Europe. We have always met international demands," Tolmachev said.
In response to a question from Interfax-Military News Agency, he said that the first mass-produced plane built at restored facilities will perform its maiden flight in 2008 or 2009. Before that, the growing gap between the offer and demand for air transportation will be bridged through the lease of military AN-124 planes.
The AN-124 has no competitors in its class of aircraft as far as the cost-efficiency ratio is concerned. For instance, the flight hour of a Russian AN-124 with a cargo capacity of 120t amounts to USD14,000, while that of a U.S.-made C-17 with a cargo capacity of 79t amounts to USD45,000.