Eastward expansion

As the Russian-owned fleet of business aircraft continues to grow so does the market of associated maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services. There are now enough customers for bizav maintenance outside Moscow to justify the introduction of maintenance facilities in Siberia and the Far East. AVCOM-D, one of the Russian bizav services veterans, opened a line maintenance station for business jets in Irkutsk earlier this year. Apart from scheduled maintenance the facility offers engine change - a very labour-intensive and therefore expensive type of service. The company’s existing logistical network allows for express parts deliveries to anywhere in Russia and the CIS, helping to bring reduce AOG times to a minimum.

AVCOM-D plans to further expand its presence on the Russian MRO market by opening line maintenance centers in Omsk and Khabarovsk. Says chairman of the company board Evgeny Bakhtin: "Our plans to offer maintenance services in Siberia and the Far East is driven by the continuing expansion of [bizav] fleets and the growing customer demand for on-site maintenance services, which eliminate the costs of ferrying aircraft to MRO facilities in Europe or the USA."