The fate of America's iconic 747 jet is in hands of Moscow firm

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Bloomberg may think a Russian company an “unlikely source” of hope for Boeing, but those in the freight industry will see it less surprising that Volga-Dnepr subsidiary AirBridgeCargo could be the US plane-maker’s saviour – or rather, the 747’s saviour. Orders for the aircraft have dwindled and cargo is now Boeing’s best hope of keeping production open. It plans to cut output to one a month next year and has sufficient orders to keep it busy enough until mid-2017. It has six unsold aircraft, and ABC wants two or three a year, up to 2022. Is it sufficient for the aircraft type to survive – or must Boeing pull the plug?