With Air Foyle, Ltd. to operate Antonov freighters in western Europe and aware of the success of that venture, this division of the long-established Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer seeks its own operating authority in 1992.
With permissions in hand, the builder, under the leadership of CEO A.
G. Bulianenko, undertakes worldwide outsized cargo flights beginning in early 1993. The inaugural fleet includes 1 An-225, 3 An-124-100 Ruslans (flown with Air Foyle, Ltd.), 1 An-22 Anteis (the world’s largest turboprop transport), and 1 An-12. Outsized cargo continues to be a major emphasis, along with support for mineral exploration concerns operating in Siberia.
Operations continue in 1994 and the fleet is expanded through the introduction of 7 additional An-12s and another An-22.
In April, a number of laid off employees establish their own carrier, Antonov Airtrack International Cargo Airlines. During September, the Anteis is contracted to transport Ariane rocket segments from France to Kourou in French Guyana.
The company remains active in the world and CIS ad hoc oversize freight business in 1995-1999, gradually increasing its presence, particularly with contracts to trouble spots on behalf of the UN. The fleet comes to include 9 An-124-100s (5 of which remain out on lease to Air Foyle, Ltd.), 3 An-22 Anteis, 2 each An-12s and An-32Bs, and 1 each An-24RV, An-72, An-74T, and An-225.
On December 19, 1997, the Ukrainian government grants national cargo carrier company status to the Antonov bureau in order to make negotiations easier for the concern with foreign partners.
An agreement with Air Foyle, Ltd., signed the previous fall, takes effect in early 2000. Two more An-124-100s, previously operated by Aeroflot Russian International Airlines (ARIA), are taken in hand by the design bureau, which has, by now, renamed its Air Foyle joint venture partnership Antonov Airlines.
In an effort to further enhance income-earning capacity, the design bureau begins, during late spring and summer, the conversion of civil standard of two ex-military An-223 Mriya super heavy transports.
Media rumors of a pending merger with Volga-Dnepr Airlines are quashed on August 21. Working from the U. K. base of Air Foyle, Ltd. base, sales representatives mount an extensive campaign during the fourth quarter to expand Antonov Airlines representation in Asia. New general sales partners are found in South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines.
World History
