Russian business aviation services group Avcom is stepping up its efforts to improve the company’s maintenance, repair and overhaul network by opening a new support base at Irkutsk in western Siberia. The Moscow-based company is preparing to open other MRO operations in Khabarovsk (in the far East of Russia) and Omsk in the Urals region, as well as at Samara in the west of the vast country.
Meanwhile, Avcom’s existing MRO center in Moscow has received approval from Russian authorities to support the airframe and engines of Beechcraft’s King Air twin turboprop line. “Today, we are the only Russian company able to provide a comprehensive solution for keeping King Airs operational,” said Avcom chairman Eugeny Bakhtin. “Our center also is certified by EASA and a dozen of our mechanics are FAA license holders. This allows us to undertake maintenance of King Air aircraft to any level required by their operators.” Avcom is not one of Beechcraft’s authorized service centers.
“The shortage of MRO stations in Russia leads to a situation in which many Russian owners of business jets are forced to send their aircraft to Europe for repair and maintenance,” Bakhtin told AIN. “Not only do they waste money on ferry flights and customs procedures, but in addition, they often get bills for the work done that are either inflated or simply not well founded. In the end, Russian aircraft operators suffer large financial losses from the shortage of world-class MRO stations in their home country.”
