Aeroflot’s board appoints A-Technics as its Superjet maintenance provider

S7 Technics had been planning for the servicing of Aeroflot’s increasing fleet of SSJ100s (Aeroflot)

The board of directors of Aeroflot Group has approved its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) subsidiary A-Technics to service the group’s fleet of Russian-made Superjet 100 regional aircraft until 2030. The list of services includes hangar storage of aircraft, engineering, a managed inventory of spare parts and the renting of specialist equipment.

A-Technics won its FAP-285 approval from Russian aviation authorities in November, becoming the third such certificate holder in the Aeroflot Group, after the title carrier and subsidiary Aurora Airlines. Initially the company will provide line maintenance on the SSJ100 at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Aeroflot airport base.

Aeroflot has plans to substantially expand its SSJ100 fleet. It currently operates 50 of the type and has another 100 on order, scheduled for delivery in the period between 2019 and 2026. The aircraft are an essential part of the airline’s strategy to develop a wide-scale domestic operations network from regional hubs.

The fact that A-Technics will support Aeroflot’s SSJ100 fleet indicates that Aeroflot is determined to develop in-house SSJ100 maintenance capabilities. Meanwhile, the maintenance company has also announced plans for the construction of a new hangar at Sheremetyevo for SSJ100 base maintenance purposes up to 2020.

This decision effectively reduces the SSJ100 maintenance market for other MRO providers in the country, since Aeroflot is the dominant operator of the type. For example, prior to the latest announcement, S7 Technics had hoped to sign up Aeroflot as a prime customer for SSJ100 maintenance, and has already arranged line maintenance facilities at Sheremetyevo.