Russia's largest cargo air group has a new owner

The founder of the Volga-Dnepr group, Alexei Isaikin, who was sanctioned in JuneGreat Britain,withdraws from the shareholders of all its Russian and foreign structures and transfers control to management

Alexey Isaikin, the founder and main owner of Volga-Dnepr, Russia's largest cargo air group, decided to withdraw from the company's shareholders and transfer control to management, the company's press service told RBC.

According to Kommersant sources, Isaikin withdraws from the capital of all foreign assets that he owns: Alpine Prosperity Foundation (Liechtenstein), Gloria 7 Sa rl (Luxembourg), Volga-Dnepr Logistics BV (Netherlands), CargoLogic Germany and CargoLogicAir (UK) .

The decision was made against the backdrop of British sanctions due to the Russian military operation in Ukraine, under which Isaikin fell in June; it is designed to reduce risks for the activities of international companies, avoid the threat of blocking accounts and “continue to work with customers, banks and lawyers in Europe,” the interlocutors said, noting that the sanctions effectively block the activities of all units abroad.

Russia's Largest Air Cargo Group Will Cut Almost All Boeing Pilots

The Volga-Dnepr group includes three airlines: Volga-Dnepr of the same name, AirBridgeCargo and Atran. It follows from the SPARK data that Volga-Dnepr Airlines is 49% owned by Volga-Dnepr Logistics BV, registered in the Netherlands. Another 51% is owned by Volga-Dnepr-Moscow LLC, which is wholly owned by Volga-Dnepr Logistics BV. These structures own the same shares in AirBridgeCargo and Atran. The parent company of the group is the Alpine Prosperity Foundation, which is 100% owned by Isaikin.

According to Kommersant, Volga-Dnepr-Moscow got rid of foreign complicity and will now be wholly owned by top managers. Among them, the interlocutors of the publication name Sergei Shklyanik, Sergei Pedan and Valery Gabriel.

According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, in January-February, the Volga-Dnepr group occupied more than 50% of the Russian air cargo transportation market. The group's business was directed to the global market: AirBridgeCargo and Volga-Dnepr had almost 100% of their flights international, while Atran had 65% (data for 2019).

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The largest cargo air group in Russia confirmed the suspension of flights Business

In mid-March, AirBridgeCargo and Atran suspended flights due to sanctions from lessors and an announcement by the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority that their airworthiness certificates had expired. In early August, RBC sources said that the group would cut more than 200 AirBridgeCargo and Atran pilots flying Boeing aircraft. According to one of them, only a few crews were saved in case. if the Ministry of Transport allows the group to return the aircraft to foreign leasing companies (AirBridgeCargo intends to return 14 out of 16 cargo Boeing 747s).

To save the business against the backdrop of sanctions from Britain and the United States (Boeing aircraft of the Volga-Dnepr group fell under the latter), management considered creating a new enterprise in the CIS or the Middle East, where they expected to transfer part of the aircraft and transfer personnel. However, according to an RBC source, nothing came of this idea.