Boeing has officially unveiled the first 777F for Volga-Dnepr, which is expected to operate on AirBridgeCargo, a subsidiary of Volga-Dnepr.
AirBridgeCargo will operate the aircraft under a sale and leaseback agreement with Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE).
The order was turbulent for Boeing, the company threatened to cancel orders in the last months of 2019. However, an agreement with DAE allowed Volga-Dnepr to operate the first 777F in its fleet, after a sudden increase in demand for cargo .
According to legal documents from Boeing, a Volga representative walked out of a meeting telling Boeing to resell the aircraft because Volga could no longer take delivery.
Boeing considered the order canceled and proceeded to search for another buyer. However, thanks to increased demand for cargo planes, Volga said it now wanted to take delivery of all four jets and Boeing could not sell the aircraft to someone else. The matter went to court and Volga sued Boeing.
The Volga-Dnepr Group is among the world's largest Boeing Freighter operators, flying 17 747s and five 737s, including 13 747-8Fs, four 747-400ERFs, two 737-800BCFs and three 737-400SFs.
The Boeing 777F is the largest twin-engine freighter in the world today. It has the capacity to carry up to 102 tons of cargo, and fly for 9200 kilometers nonstop.
Of all production freighters, only the 747F and 777 Freighter are capable of transporting tall loads on pallets 3 meters (10 feet) high.