ACU_Auugust Fourth Draft

COVER STORY
During his lifetime, Antonov had been decorated
with three Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October
Revolution, the Order of the Patriotic War 1st class,
the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and the Medal
'Partisan of the Patriotic War' 1st class. On November
19, 1984, the OKB-153 was formerly renamed
Antonov Design Bureau in his honor.
Source: www.antonov-airlines.com
Antonov Airlines turns 30
Graham Witton
Antonov Airlines is celebrating its 30th anniversary in commercial cargo
industry this year with much optimism.
Ukraine's cargo carrier which was founded in 1989 pioneering in
transporting outsize and heavy cargo across the globe looks to a better
future with technology and innovation on hand.
“As we look back on 30 years of Antonov Airlines, and the projects that
we have completed, we see one of our strengths is the flexibility of our
business to adapt to changing markets,” said Graham Witton, Managing
Director, Antonov Airlines.
“We are transporting more outsize cargo than ever before, anything
from wind turbine components to city centre trams, and practically
anything in between.
“We are also moving further into the aerospace industry as digital
communications become more integral in the global economy.”
On 11 August 2009, Antonov An-225 'Mriya', the world's largest
aircraft, made history in the Guinness World Record when it transported a
generator with a total payload of 187.6 tons from Frankfurt, Germany to
Yerevan, Armenia, breaking the record for heaviest single piece of air
cargo ever transported.
“When the business first started, many items such as satellite containers,
generators and transformers were too big or too heavy to fly on
conventional freighters,” said Paul
Furlonger, Director, Antonov
Airlines, who has been with
Antonov Airlines since those first
days in 1989.
“Antonov Airlines, as the first
commercial operator of the An-
124-100, had to quickly pioneer
methods of loading using great
creativity and flexibility.
“At the beginning, we were
doing things for the first time,
almost every time, and over the
years, after many thousands of
flights, our processes have become
more refined and our expertise
e n h a n c e d s o t h a t w e n o w
undertake ever more challenging
and complex projects with
absolute confidence,” added
Furlonger.