Russia’s A-Technics to maintain Aeroflot’s SSJ100 fleet
In line with its strategy of increasing its in-house maintenance capabilities, Russia’s Aeroflot Group has announced that A-Technics, its subsidiary maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service provider, has won FAP-285 approval from the country’s aviation authority Rosaviatsiya.
The endorsement entitles A-Technics to perform line maintenance and light checks on Russian-made Superjet 100 (SSJ100) regional jets, including non-destructive testing (NDT) procedures, the Rosaviatsiya document reveals.
A-Technics’ general director Mikhail Korobovich has told Russian Aviation Insider that the company will be ready to handle its first aircraft before the end of this year. “These are aircraft from the fleet of the national carrier Aeroflot, which are based at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo [SVO] airport. This summer A-Technics opened a line maintenance station at Russia’s largest airport.”
A-Technics plans to eventually expand its SSJ100 capabilities to heavy checks, but this aim is linked to the construction of a new maintenance hangar at SVO, which may happen in 2020 Korobovich suggests. The construction project has received approval from the appropriate state authorities in May.
Aeroflot airline has its own FAP-285 licence, which was earned in October 2016, and as such is therefore also approved for SSJ100 maintenance services.
A-Technics’ line station at SVO also services Aeroflot Group’s western-built jets, primarily those operated by Rossiya Airlines, which has been basing 15 of its aircraft at Sheremetyevo since October.
Although A-Technics, which has just celebrated three years of operations, prefers to remain tight-lipped about its progressive business development plans, Russian Aviation Insider’s sources in the industry suggest that it has been gaining momentum. In particular, its Orenburg division is demonstrating good results, with Boeing 737-800 C-checks for Aeroflot and Rossiya. In fact, with the MRO nearing its current maximum annual capacity limit of 36 C-checks, the management is now considering a three-shift schedule instead of the existing two.
Aeroflot Group currently operates 360 aircraft, but to achieve its passenger traffic target of 100 million in 2023, the group says it will have to operate a total of some 520 aircraft by then.
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