Volga-Dnepr to order three IL-76TD-90VD freighters

Volga-Dnepr to order three IL-76TD-90VD freighters Volga-Dnepr Group, parent company of Russian outsize and heavyweight cargo airline Volga-Dnepr Airlines, has signed a general agreement with the Ilyushin Interstate Aviation Co. for three new IL-76TD-90VD freighters.
   Under terms of the agreement, Volga-Dnepr will place a firm order for three of the planes before Aug. 1 with the first delivery due 15 months after the contract is signed. The partners have established an option agreement for a further 10 of the aircraft.
   Volga-Dnepr has been a proactive campaigner for the return of the aircraft, which was banned under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) noise restrictions in 2000. In 2006, a three-year program initiated by Volga-Dnepr to modernize the aircraft was successfully completed when the airline took delivery of the first new generation IL-76TD-90VD. A second aircraft, being built at the Chkalov Tashkent Aircraft Production Co., will enter service with Volga-Dnepr in the third quarter of this year.
   The new aircraft, which has an increased payload to 50 tons as well as new engines and avionics, has been awarded a Chapter 4 noise certificate by the ICAO, allowing the freighter to operate anywhere in the world.