LONDON – Yesterday, the Antonov Company took to social media to begin crowdfunding for the revival and re-build of its flagship AN-225 Mriya.
In an open letter to the international company, Antonov said the following:
At this stage, it is unclear how many donations have been made to Antonov regarding this rebuild.
Antonov Understands The Significance of the Mriya
It is clear in this respect that Antonov understands the significance of the Mriya, which is not just for the enthusiasts, but also for the air cargo sector itself.
As we all know, the Mriya was capable of transporting incredibly heavy goods that you couldn’t normally transport in a conventional Boeing 777 Freighter.
Antonov previously confirmed that the aircraft would be rebuilt, but at the expense of the Russian government, as well as wanting to complete production on the second airframe.
It is clear in this instance, that such a decision has been altered.
The Russians Will Never Pay Damages…
The fighting talk from Antonov about Russia paying for damages on the aircraft was quite clearly something of angry emotions coming out and rightly justified too.
With such crowdfunding taking place, it is clear that Antonov knows that in reality, the Russians will not pay a single cent to the company.
This will also be irrespective of which side the conflict concludes on. If Russia gets pushed back, then it will continue to isolate itself from the rest of the world.
A big example of this in the aviation world is through President Putin signing a law stating that all leased aircraft belong to Russian carriers, wiping over $10bn worth of assets off the leasing market.
Overall
It remains clear that Antonov is just as eager as the rest of the industry is to get the Mriya rebuilt and back in the skies as soon as possible.
For those in the industry, it is encouraged that people make such donations so then a big part of the cargo sector can be restored.
Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see where the conflict will go next and whether Antonov can generate enough funds to put the rebuild into action.
But for now, all we can do is support those in Ukraine the best we can, and hope for the best outcome all-round.
