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6/30/04
The
Antonov: Fast Shipping for Large Items
Written
by:
Shana Martin, SCRC |
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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.
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