A former CEO of Red Wings Airlines, Evgeny Solodilin, intends to acquire Volga-Dnepr Group through recently established limited liability company Evraz Avia Service (EAS Group), the newspaper Kommersant reported on September 17 citing unnamed industry sources.
While the negotiations are still in progress, the two entities have reportedly already signed a preliminary agreement under which EAS Group would acquire Volga-Dnepr's airline business, comprising the cargo carrier Volga-Dnepr Airlines (VI, Ulyanovsk Vostochny) and its two maintenance subsidiaries, Volga-Dnepr Technics and Volga-Dnepr Engineering. The value of the potential takeover has not been disclosed.
ch-aviation reached out to Volga-Dnepr Group for comment, but the company was not immediately available.
Plans for Volga-Dnepr Group
Evraz Avia Service reportedly plans to petition the Russian government for permission to return B747-8Fs formerly operated by Volga-Dnepr ex-subsidiary AirBridgeCargo to foreign lessors. Kommersant's source claims that the airline does not need these widebody freighters due to insufficient demand and a lack of service facilities in the country.
Ten B747-8Fs formerly operated by AirBridgeCargo have remained in storage at Moscow Sheremetyevo since March 2022. The company cannot operate them due to US sanctions. Earlier this year, the company said it had maintained the B747s as airworthy and "restart-ready" in case the sanctions were lifted.
Volga-Dnepr Group has been trying to distance itself from AirBridgeCargo in recent years, hoping to avoid sanctions and obfuscate the ultimate ownership of the holding. The Russian corporate register shows that AirBridgeCargo does not currently have any formal ties to the holding company and it is co-owned by two individuals, Sergey Bezdetko and Dmitry Sorokin (each with a 50% stake)
Following the lease settlements, Evraz Avia Service would hope to retrieve three An-124-100s formerly operated by Volga-Dnepr Airlines seized at Leipzig/Halle (one has been parked there since 2019 and two since 2022) and buy unidentified Boeing aircraft from foreign entities - a transaction that would violate US sanctions. The sources did not disclose the exact aircraft types slated for acquisition.
Atran, another Volga-Dnepr Group unit that is currently dormant, used to operate six B737-800(BCF)s. The freighters were put into storage following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but remain parked at Moscow Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo. Atran also no longer has formal ties to the holding and is co-owned by three individuals.
In addition, the potential buyer wants to add Il-96-400Ts and Tu-204-100Cs to Volga-Dnepr Airlines' fleet. Evraz Avia Service told the TASS news agency that the company aims to create a "comprehensive cargo aviation ecosystem" comprising freight transport, aircraft service, and maintenance.
Data from the Russian business register indicated that Evraz Avia Service LLC was founded by Solodilin on February 11, 2025, with a share capital of RUB1 million rubles (USD12,000). The company’s registered address is near Zhukovsky. In the past, Solodilin served as general director of the airport and chief executive of Red Wings Airlines and was also involved in other cargo-focused aviation ventures.
Struggling business
The news about Evraz's potential takeover comes less than a month after the group's founder and president, Alexey Isaikin, floated the idea of the government taking control of the company. As previously reported, the shareholders of Volga-Dnepr Group have approved a voluntary renunciation of property rights, paving the way for the state to take over the firm, ch-aviation data shows.
The Russian business register indicates that Volga-Dnepr-Moscow LLC, trading as Volga-Dnepr Group, is co-owned by three Russian nationals: Igor Aksyonov (a 50% stake), Valery Gabriel, and Vildan Zinurov (25% each).
Volga-Dnepr Group has been struggling since the onset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as the company lost access to key Western markets. It has since shifted focus to domestic operations and selected international services, mainly to airports in China, the UAE, and Egypt.
According to ch-aviation data, Volga-Dnepr Airlines' fleet comprises nine An-124-100s, one An-124-100-150, and five Il-76TD-90VD. However, a significant portion of the fleet is currently inactive.
