AIR FOYLE, ANTONOV RENEW PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

AIR FOYLE, ANTONOV RENEW PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT    Air Foyle, the U.K.-based cargo and passenger air charter company, has renewed its 12-year contract arrangement with Antonov Design Bureau.
   Under the new multiyear agreement, the companies will market their fleet of Antonov 124-100 freighter aircraft under the branded under Antonov Airlines.
   The joint marketing agreement will also cover the Antonov An225, which is expected to be available in the second half of 2001.
   The giant aircraft, named Mriya, which is Ukrainian for “Dream,” was designed and built in the late 1980s by the Kiev-based Antonov Design Bureau, to be used for the former Soviet Union's space program.
   The aircraft will be able to carry up to 250 tons of cargo up to 2,800 miles at a cruising speed of 500 to 530 miles per hour. The aircraft will be able to carry payloads both inside and outside using external attachment points on the fuselage.