Antonov Airlines sets sights on overseas expansion

Ukrainian heavy-lift air carrier Antonov Airlines is preparing its aircraft fleet and expanding cargo sales for future operations in the United States and Hong Kong, the company said.    The Ukrainian heavy-lift air carrier Antonov Airlines is preparing its aircraft fleet and expanding cargo sales for future operations in the United States and Hong Kong, the company said.
    “Ukraine has developed excellent links with the USA as a result of an open skies agreement that has granted Antonov freedom to operate to and from the USA without the need to obtain U.S. Department of Transport statements of authorization,” Oleg Orlov, the airline’s vice president, said in a statement.
   The carrier recently set up a new office at London Stansted Airport, and has appointed a general sales agent in Japan and Australia.
   Antonov Airlines operates a fleet of seven AN-124 freighters, each with payloads of up to 150 tons, as well as the biggest aircraft in the world, the AN-225, which has a payload of 250 tons.
   The airline is a division of Kyiv, Ukraine-based Antonov Co., and a Ukrainian state-owned enterprise which designs, builds and maintains the AN freighters.
   “As the design bureau, Antonov Co. is the only company that can make amendments to the AN aircraft,” said Graham Witton, managing director of Antonov Airlines in the United Kingdom.
   The carrier is currently working with a number of western aircraft parts suppliers to upgrade some of the features of its Antonov planes.
   For example, Antonov has introduced Dunlop tires to a number of its planes, including its AN-124 and AN-225 fleet. The tires allow the AN-124 aircraft to operate at their designed maximum payload of 150 tons. The company is also working with Honeywell for its avionics, Pratt & Whitney, Dowty Propellers and Zodiac Aerospace.
   “Our AN-124s will be flying for the next quarter of a century and we are making sure they are at the cutting edge of aviation technology and design,” Witton said.