roject cargo airlines are the firemen of the air freight business. Their massive AN-124 aircraft are often called into service with minimal notice to ferry outsize cargo that needs to be delivered quickly. In the aftermath of a major catastrophe, such as the Asian tsunami, AN-124s deliver critical supplies to areas that may only be accessible by air.

But the ad-hoc nature of project cargo can take a toll on outsize-freight specialist airlines. Scrambling to find the right aircraft at the right time, figuring out how to quickly load odd-shaped cargo onto aircraft, and landing in remote and unfamiliar airports are issues that are difficult to navigate.

As logistics management becomes a higher priority throughout the air cargo business, project cargo players are seeking to become more embedded in planned supply chains. Russia's Volga-Dnepr, which flies 10 of the 23 AN-124s in operation, is aggressively trying to change the project cargo paradigm. "The company has been transforming its services from 'airport to airport' deliveries to a 'unique logistics solutions' concept," Volga-Dnepr said in a recent presentation to business executives.

Although the airline concedes last-minute emergency operations will always be a part of its business, the carrier would prefer that many more of its operations are planned well in advance. And the airline wants to play a key role in the planning.

"Our objective would be to include the AN-124 from the outset. We'd rather sit with (shippers and forwarders) and plan the process," says Tony Bauckham, managing director, Volga-Dnepr UK. "Often we find that we are fire fighting … working on an ad-hoc panic basis. But if you built the airplane into the logistics network from the outset, it would be beneficial all around.

"It's a different mentality. Instead of sitting around and waiting for things to fall apart and make a rescue, we'd be there from the outset."

Only about 15 percent of Volga-Dnepr's project cargo flights are planned well in advance. That means little time is usually spent preparing the cargo for shipping, developing special equipment that may be needed to move the outsize freight or making preparations at airports so AN-124s can be smoothly handled.

"If something has been prepared for sea (shipping) and suddenly it needs to be flown, then the cargo probably needs to be prepared for flying very differently than it was prepared for sea. We have to put this together at very short notice," says Bauckham. "It strikes us that to do planning in advance would be more sensible."

Volga-Dnepr has set two goals that it views as complementary. One is to sign more long-term contracts with shippers. Another is to be regarded as the leading expert in the technical aspects of moving outsize cargo by air. The carrier believes shippers will view access to Volga-Dnepr's technical expertise as justification for long-term commitments to moving project cargo by air rather than by sea.

Shippers moving project cargo often make ocean liners their first choice because of the cheaper costs associated with sea freight. Volga-Dnepr is trying to convince shippers that, although air may be more expensive, a project's overall costs can be lowered if proper planning is in place and air's speed advantage is used to get major projects finished sooner and producing revenue faster.

"What we have to do is convince them that using Volga-Dnepr's experience from the beginning would be a benefit to them," says Bauckham. "We can give the shipper a breakdown of the possibilities and scenarios. Obviously, the mentality is that sea freight is always cheaper. But transportation cost is usually a small percentage of overall project costs.

"This is an education process. Convincing people is difficult. We're not going to convince 100 percent that it would be better to have us involved from the outset."

As for Volga-Dnepr itself, it would be "immensely" beneficial to have more planning time, says Bauckham. "It would mean we're able to overcome most of the problems we encounter with a little more time to prepare," he says. "It would ensure there are no delays, fewer inefficiencies."

Volga-Dnepr rival Polet Airlines signed a long-term contract of sorts with Airbus, the European aircraft manufacturer that last year named Polet a "designated carrier" to make A380 program-related deliveries.

As part of the deal, Polet has been using its AN-124s to ferry a full-scale mock up of an A380 fuselage to air shows for display. Polet is also expected to move equipment needed for A380 assembly around the world, thus becoming part of the manufacturer's jumbo aircraft supply chain.

That's the kind of deal Volga-Dnepr is seeking. The airline was pushing to sign a long-term contract with Boeing for moving 787 parts, but the U.S. manufacturer decided to use its own planes to move parts and equipment for its next generation aircraft program even though Volga-Dnepr will provide some support.

"The margin for error is pretty small in offloading outsize cargo," says Bauckham. "When you have a kind of partnership with the shipper, a lot of the potential problems can be alleviated."

Volga-Dnepr has made increasing its advance-planning projects a top "strategy goal" for 2006 and seeks to move the percentage of such operations to 20 percent or higher by the end of the year.

"We would find that we'd have more long-term projects whereas at the present time we're often operating on an ad-hoc basis," says Bauckham. "Let's put these aircraft (AN-124s) in the project logistics chain. Our intention is to try to get closer (relationships with) the project forwarder and the shipper."

Boeing's 787 Project

Boeing realized that it would need to quickly move large 787 components around the world to assemble its next generation aircraft, due to enter service in 2008. An obvious choice would have been to contract out the services to a project cargo specialist airline; indeed, Volga-Dnepr was pushing Boeing to sign just such a deal.

But the manufacturer decided to purchase and convert three 747-400s into "Large Cargo Freighters" with bigger fuselages and "swing tail" doors to move 787 parts worldwide. The plane maker will own the aircraft itself. "This is really the first time we've done this," says Boeing spokeswoman Mary Hanson.

Though the aircraft will be solely dedicated to supporting 787 production, Boeing plans to contract out LCF flight operations. No decision has been made on which company will operate the planes for Boeing.

The first 747-400 LCF will be test flown later this year. Boeing says the time saved by moving parts via its planes rather than by ocean or through contracted air services will cut costs and allow for faster, more efficient production of 787s. Two LCFs will initially support the production line next year, with a third plane added at an undetermined later date. The two 747-400 freighters, used aircraft purchased by Boeing last year, are being modified into LCFs by Evergreen Aviation Technologies in Taipei.

The redesigned 747-400 freighters will have a main cargo deck volume of 65,000 cubic feet, three times the cargo volume of standard 747-400 freighters. Boeing says the fuselage will be about 18 inches larger in diameter than an A380's fuselage.

The aircraft will move 787 parts between supplier factories in Italy, South Carolina, Kansas and Japan to Boeing's final assembly plant in Everett, Wash.

An-124 Alternative

The AN-124 is the workhorse of the global outsize air cargo market, but is there room for an alternative aircraft to ferry project cargo?

Global Heavylift Holdings believes there may be. GHH seeks to turn the U.S. military C-17 transport into a commercial outsize cargo aircraft. For now, there is no legal means of doing so.

GHH hopes the U.S. Congress will pass legislation that allows the U.S. military to sell used C-17s for commercial use, and that allows Boeing to manufacture new C-17s intended for commercial use. The C-17's primary advantage, say backers of the aircraft's civilian potential, is that it can land anywhere there is flat ground and does not need the infrastructure support required for a AN-124.

"The intent is not to supplant the AN-124," says GHH principal Myron Stokes. "There is a subset of the project cargo market that the C-17 can exploit."

Stokes says GHH has a 30-year business plan for operating C-17s, built by Boeing in Long Beach, Calif., as commercial freighters and is ready to start operations as soon as is legally possible.

"We could be flying as early as 2007," he says. "The moment C-17s are available, we will go after projects that we already have letters of intent for. We're trying to affect a sea change (in the project cargo market). This has gone beyond concept to a functional, doable deal. The only thing missing is (legislative) language that allows the Air Force to sell used C-17s."

The C-17 has been a hot-button political issue. Efforts to shut down C-17 production have been thwarted by Congress, led by lawmakers from California. Congress has authorized the U.S. Air Force to buy 42 more C-17s, but the program's future is in doubt beyond that commitment.

Backers of turning C-17s into commercial freighters say doing so would guarantee the Long Beach plant would remain in operation, a major concern of California officials that fear a big economic hit if C-17 production is stopped.