Volga-Dnepr Group's commitment to offering customers a 'Cargo Supermarket' of air logistics solutions has resulted in a significant increase in demand for Boeing 747F charter flights for the transportation of non-standard cargoes. Its latest flight delivered 60 tonnes of 12-metre long pipes urgently needed to ensure there was no loss of production on an oil rig involved in an exploration project in the North Sea. Faulty machinery parts had threatened to stop production within a couple of days and create losses for the oil company of US$20,000 per hour. Working for Chapman Freeborn in London and its customer DAMCO, Volga-Dnepr Group was able to arrange for an AirBridgeCargo Airlines' Boeing 747F charter flight, in addition to their scheduled network operations, to deliver the pipes from Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan, to Billund in Denmark on March 22. The flight schedule was affected by the earthquake and tsunami that hit the eastern side of Japan but despite the devastation caused by the natural disaster, all parties worked in close cooperation to ensure the timely delivery of the urgent shipment to Europe. The complicated, long shipment was carried using 20-foot pallets and connectors and required two high-loaders for loading and unloading. Reflecting the high demand for its 747F charter services, Volga-Dnepr has successfully completed 30 charter flights in the past three months and more are expected in the coming weeks. Flights have included two B747Fs on behalf of EMERCOM in Russia, carrying 200 tonnes of relief cargo from Moscow to Islamabad after the major floods in Pakistan as well as a flight from New Delhi to Port-au-Prince in Haiti with 100 tonnes of multi-purpose soap for earthquake victims. Dennis Gliznoutsa, Group Commercial Director (Charters) at Volga-Dnepr commented: "After 20 years, our reputation for moving heavy and outsize air cargo using our ramp loading AN-124-100 and IL-76TD-90VD freighters is known by customers all over the world. Using AirBridgeCargo's Boeing 747s as part of our 'Cargo Supermarket" concept extends our capability even further. Often the 747 can be the most suitable aircraft to meet a specific charter request but customers still require our expertise in transporting non-standard cargoes. This has resulted in the strong growth we are experiencing.(volgadnepr/mar)