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The Antonov: Fast Shipping for Large Items

While not a household name, Russian-built Antonov aircrafts have played an important role in transportation and logistics. The Antonov 124 was initially built to move Russian military cargo, but its sheer size makes it one of the largest and one of the most useful cargo planes. These aircraft have become increasing popular in handling emergency situations, such as getting supplies to natural disasters and war zones. Many government and private industry have also found applications for the cargo capabilities:

  • On June 16, 2001, the United States Government sent an Antonov An-124 to recover the damaged U.S. Navy EP-3 surveillance aircraft on Hainan Island, China (1).
  • Last year, during the West Coast longshoremen lockout, Antonovs were used to transport some items.
  • An Antonov carried a 240,000-pound locomotive across the Atlantic to Ireland, when production delays were hampering delivery to an Irish railroad company (2).
  • Pepsi used the freight aircraft to deliver a bottling line from Italy to Mexico as quickly as possible (2).

This gas-guzzling plane uses 3.3 tons of fuel simply to taxi down a runway. While not fuel efficient, the Antonov provides one very important thing to customers – cargo space. The inside dimensions of the aircraft are 14 feet high, 20 feet wide, and 134 feet long. The size of the cargo tunnel makes it possible to handle items that will not fit into a Boeing 747, such as helicopters, turbine engines and some oil drilling equipment (2). Additionally, the maximum payload is 330,639 pounds, 70,000 more than a Lockheed C-5B (2).

Christopher Foyle, chairman and joint chief executive of Antonov Airlines, said that the Antonov is not ideal for general cargo because it lacks a roller system for pallet loading. It just has a flat floor and four overhead cranes. When there is a surge in shipping demands, it can get the job done. It simply takes longer to load than a Boeing 747 (3).

Given that the cost of using an Antonov can run greater than $12,000 per flight hour, it is not always the best form of transporting goods. Many organizations choose the Antonov when shipping overseas under time constraints. The alternative shipping method for extremely large items is by cargo ship, a lengthy process.

There are currently three operators in the Antonov market: Volga-Dnepr, Polet Cargo Airlines, and Antonov Airlines. The three have 24 AN-124 freighters between them and have divided up the $500 million-a-year market. Volga-Dnepr is the market leader, with 45 percent of the Antonov business (4). There is also talk of increased competition in the heavy airfreight market. Boeing is examining the development of a C-17 specifically designed for large cargo.

References:

(1) “World News Roundup.” Aviation Week and Space Technology. June 2001, pg. 23

(2) Lavin, Douglas, “The Mighty Antonov is the Only Way to Fly Your Locomotive.” The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 29, 1994.

(3) Tirschwell, Peter. “With Christopher Foyle, Chairman, Antonov Airlines,” Journal of Commerce. October 2003.

(4) Barnard, Bruce. “A Breed Apart,” Journal of Commerce. June 2003.