Air Freight Carrier Selects Right Aircraft for the Job

RUSSIA – Volga-Dnepr Airlines, which is currently adopting Lufthansa Systems Lido/iRouteManual, Lido/Enroute and Lido/DocView IT solutions to simplify cockpit processes, is also busy promoting its new ‘cargo supermarket’ concept which utilises the best use of Russian and Western transport aircraft within the parent group’s fleet, and uses a recent case to illustrate its policy.

The charterer, Proair, urgently needed Volga-Dnepr’s help to move the high value, time sensitive shipment at short notice, knowing that although many aviation authorities were closed over the Christmas and New Year period, the airline would be able to gain the necessary permits and meet the strict delivery deadline.

The size and weight of the cargo meant Volga-Dnepr Group’s An-124-100, IL-76TD-90VD and Boeing 747 freighters were all far too big for this specific flight. Instead, the perfect aircraft solution was to charter one of the Boeing 737-400 freighters operated by Atran Airlines, the Group’s express cargo carrier. Clair Gunn, Sales Executive at Volga-Dnepr UK, said:

“The range and capability of the Group’s aircraft fleet means we can offer a unique in-house solution for cargo shipments of all sizes. In this case, using one of our Boeing 737Fs meant we not only met the tight delivery deadline set by the customer but also ensured we provided the most cost efficient solution too.”

Meanwhile February should see completion of the company’s adoption of the Lufthansa technology which should ease the workload of its pilots by providing fast access to continually updated documents and data. An additional bonus for the airline is the estimated €200,000 a year in operational costs saved in the process.

Lido/iRouteManual and its associated apps are optimised for use on the Apple iPad. The navigation solution includes general maps, take-off and landing charts, instrument flight rules (IFR) charts and depictions of airport runways. The crews can download the required charts to their iPads and use them for flight preparation whenever they want, such as in the briefing room, in a hotel or at home. The charts are generated directly from the Lido navigation database and are always up- to-date.

With Lido/Enroute, ABC pilots can display the route on interactive charts on their iPad as well and with the mobile Lido/DocView solution and web-based Lido/DVMS add-on, pilots also have all of the necessary documents and notifications from operations control at their fingertips. The user interface is accessed through an app and can be individually configured by the user.

Photo: One of Atran’s Boeing 737-400 freighters.