MOSCOW, Dec. 18 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Moscow Domodedovo International Airport announced the addition of wheel and brake service for western-made aircrafts to the roster of ground on-site tech support. The service will be provided by EAST LINE TECHNIQUE Co. Ltd., a member company of EAST LINE Group, which operates Domodedovo -- the largest and fastest growing air-transportation hub in the Russia and Eastern Europe.
EAST LINE TECHNIQUE is a pioneer in provision of service of this type in Russia: the facility at the Domodedovo Airport is the first independent provider of wheel and brake RMS in the Russian Federation and the CIS.
"Tire and wheel integrity is a very important component of air travel safety and comfort," says Daria Korshunova, Moscow Domodedovo International Airport Director of Public Relations. "Addition of this new facility is yet another contribution to the overall highest standards of service we aim to offer carriers and air travelers at Domodedovo."
The market analysis by EAST LINE Group has shown a high demand for this type of services and proved that the launch of a wheel and brake service shop at the Domodedovo airport would be economically effective. At the moment, the overwhelming majority of Russian and CIS airlines do not have their own capabilities and are therefore forced to use the services of foreign companies. This, according to Ms. Korshunova, is associated with a number of difficulties and high costs. "The service at Domodedovo airport will be convenient and less pricey for our domestic and foreign clients, while meeting the highest international standards of quality," says Domodedovo Director of Public Relations.
The facility was certified by the European Airworthiness Authorities in November 2007. It is authorised to service Boeing-747 and Boeing-757 type aircrafts, in early 2008 the shop will be certified to service Boeing-737, Boeing-767, as well as Airbus A310 and Airbus A319/320/321 type aircrafts. The shop will be ready to do capital repairs of wheels and brakes later on in 2008.
The facility occupies 290 square meters and employs 10 specialists. All personnel have undergone extensive training, including training abroad, and are certified under EASA-145 and FAP-145 RF. For now 10 wheels and two brakes can be serviced or repaired per shift, while the shop's development plan implies further staff increase and production capacity expansion.
EAST LINE TECHNIQUE organised the wheel and brake service in partnership with such companies as Aircraft Wheels and Brakes Goodrich Corporation (Great Britain), SAS Company (Denmark) and APPH Basingstoke MRO (Great Britain).
The wheel and brake service shop is fitted out with modern and highly productive equipment manufactured by KUNZ GmbH Aircraft Equipment, ITW Tiede Non-Destructive Testing GmbH, and GE Inspection Technologies Limited. The shop acquires its tools and expendable materials from suppliers like Dunlop Aircraft Tyres, Aircraft Wheels and Brakes Goodrich Corporation, McGean-Rohco Incorporated, Shell International and Dow Corning Corporation.
The launch of the foreign-made aircraft wheel and brakes service shop is yet another phase in the development of heavy technical maintenance forms. It is planned that the EAST LINE TECHNIQUE aviation-technical base will be ready for C-check by September 2008.
EAST LINE TECHNIQUE is a member of the EAST LINE Group. It specialises in operative servicing of foreign-made aircrafts. Founded in 2002, EAST LINE TECHNIQUE is the only independent foreign-made aircraft technical service centre in Russia certified under the European rules (JAR - 145 / PART - 145, certificate No.F - 058/E).
EAST LINE Group ( http://www.eastline.ru/eng ) includes companies engaged mostly in provision of comprehensive ground support and airport management services.
It combines companies engaged mostly in provision of comprehensive ground support and airport management services. The majority of EAST LINE Group companies are based in Domodedovo International Airport, which presently is the Russian leader in passenger flow and second in terms of cargo traffic. EAST LINE GROUP manages Domodedovo in accordance with 75-year lease agreement.
Moscow DOMODEDOVO International Airport (DME, UUDD)
( http://www.domodedovo.ru/en/ ) is the Russian and Eastern European leader in terms of passenger flow and one of the three best airports in the Central and Eastern Europe. According to performance results of January – November 2007 Domodedovo maintains leading position in terms of passenger traffic in Moscow aviation hub. Passenger throughput amounted to 17 353 311 air travelers in January - November 2007, a 22.1% increase over the same period in 2006. Domodedovo handled 15.37 million passengers and 126,300 tonnes of cargo in 2006.
Auirport serves more than 100 domestic and international destinations. In July 2007, Lufthansa announced that it will move all its Moscow operations from Sheremetyevo International Airport to Domodedovo beginning March 31, 2008, with flights to connect Domodedovo with Berlin-Tegel, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. Japan Airlines is to also move all its Moscow operations to Domodedovo beginning 15 December 2007. American Airlines announced on October 16, 2007 that the airline will begin flights from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to Domodedovo June 2, 2008.
