News / Denis Ilin quits AirBridgeCargo, while Cargolux loses vp flight ops after less than a year

Denis Ilin, the much-respected executive president of AirBridgeCargo, has resigned after three years at the helm of the carrier.

Mr Ilin has overseen the growth of ABC and leaves just as it looks set to expand further.

A Volga-Dnepr Group stalwart, Mr Ilin held several leadership roles before leaving, only to rejoin several years later.

Last month Volga-Dnepr Group bullishly confirmed the order of 20 new aircraft, at a time when the market is struggling with overcapacity and low pricing. Mr Ilin’s resignation surely comes at a bad time for the carrier, which will need all the experience it can get as it expands in tough conditions.

The group said in a statement: “Denis Ilin made a significant contribution to the boosting of the airline’s operational results and overall FTK figures, as well as to opening the new ABC stations in North America and South-east Asia, thus bringing the company to its solid position in the key markets.

“Denis Ilin directly participated in establishing the long-term business relationships with key customers and strategic partners, such as Boeing and General Electric, which resulted in the signing of the major agreement for the delivery of 20 state-of-the-art В747-8F cargo aircraft.”

It added: “The top management of Volga-Dnepr Group would like to express their gratitude to Denis Ilin for his substantial contribution to the development of the scheduled cargo business of AirBridgeCargo Airlines and wish him every success in his business career.”

The group did not mention a replacement for Mr Ilin, who was based in London. It is thought that he plans to take some time off.

Meanwhile, Cargolux’s recently appointed vice-president of flight operations, Jason Holt, has left the airline after just 10 months. Local media reports there have been disagreements at a senior level. Claude Zehren has been appointed interim EVP and Nominated Person Flight Operations with immediate effect.