January 30 - Boeing and AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), part of Volga-Dnepr Group, have celebrated the delivery of the first of five new Boeing 747-8 Freighters to the airline.

"The introduction of the Boeing 747-8F (pictured below) represents a huge commitment to our customers since we are investing in state of the art equipment to further expand our network," said Tatyana Arslanova, executive president of AirBridgeCargo Airlines.

"We have a firm belief that our established and new customers will greatly benefit from the additional features the airplane will provide such as enhanced payload. With the introduction of the Boeing 747-8F, we'll have the youngest freighter fleet in the industry while maintaining the highest standards of environmental compliance."

Marty Bentrott, vice president of Sales for Russia, Central Asia and Middle East, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said: "ABC is a valued customer of Boeing that has built a very successful cargo business with the help of eleven 747 Freighters and we're confident ABC will maintain its impressive rate of growth, supported by the new fleet of Boeing 747-8 Freighters."

The new 747-8 Freighter is 250 feet, 2 inches (76.3 m) long, which is 18 feet and 4 inches (5.6 m) longer than its predecessor, the 747-400 Freighter. The stretch provides customers with 16 percent more revenue cargo volume, which translates to four additional main-deck pallets and three additional lower-hold pallets. The 747-8 Freighters are powered with GE's GEnx-2B engines.

In addition to the five 747-8 Freighters it has on order, AirBridgeCargo has options for an additional five more airplanes.

www.boeing.com

www.airbridgecargo.com