www.combibox.com

THE LEADER OF MODERN GROUND SUPPORT SERVICES

Ground support services for aircraft can be of three types:

Tradition and habits support use of vehicles in many airports, but bridgemounted systems are also widely used.

Underground systems with pits at the gate (containing cables or hoses that can be connected to the aircraft) have been on the market since the 80's but started to be installed on a wider scale just a decade ago.

Because Combibox - the technical pioneer and leader of underground systems at airports and in maintenance hangars – is Swedish, it is natural that its systems are common in Scandinavia. Installations can be found at Arlanda in Stockholm; Kastrup in Copenhagen; and Gardermoen in Oslo. But now they can also be found all over the world. The high quality of the system can handle arctic as well as desert or tropical environments without problems. During the last years, the Middle East and South East Asia have therefore become important markets.

FUNCTIONS

Five media can be included in the Combibox System for airports, but the number in a specific case naturally depends on the needs of the buyer. At airports 400 Hz electricity supply, preconditioned air (PCA), water, fuel and disposal of lavatory wastes are needed. More functions are possible for maintenance hangars: 50 Hz, data lines, tool compressed air, starter air, vacuum, hydraulic power a s o. Multifunctional pits are common in hangars. A number of heavy maintenance hangars around the world rely on pitmounted aircraft services e.g. SAS in Oslo, Olympic Airways in Athens, and the Gamco Hangar in Abu Dhabi. The system allows the buyer to decide on any combination of functions to be installed. Sometimes only 400 Hz is involved at airports, in other cases electricity and water, or those functions plus PCA and so on.

Under the heading "Products" on the webpage (www.combibox.com), detailed information can be found regarding the different types of Combiboxes as well as about the application areas (airports, hangars). Relevant contact information can also be found there.

COMPARISONS WITH THE ALTERNATIVES

Intuitively, it is easy to understand that a system with no vehicles or people waiting around the airplanes, probably is cost effective. If the same personnel can start by connecting 400 Hz cables, then the preconditioned air (PCA) hoses, later the water hoses and emptying the waste etc, then the number of employees clearly can be reduced. This means that the pitmounted system is the real low-cost alternative for ground support. Many invisible costs like the need to interview, control and check many now unnecessary persons working around the aircraft also disappears. And at the same time the system is superior regarding other important dimensions. Never having to wait for vehicles working at other airplanes reduces waiting times and facilitates a fast turnaround of aircraft. And the considerable reduction of vehicles and employees has a number of other positive consequences: better security, fewer accidents, better environment etc.

If a comparison is made between the Combibox System and the bridge-mounted aircraft services, the advantages are considerable. For example, let's compare the two systems regarding PCA. The factors to be considered are the size of the investment, cool air losses, maintenance costs, collision risks and the simplicity of handling.

Concerning cool air losses, a difference arises because of the below vs aboveground location and the length of hoses. The maintenance costs of the telescopic duct under the bridge and the long hoses are far higher than for the pits and their short hoses. Collisions between service vehicles and the passenger loading bridge and its equipment below, occur regularly. The hoses in the pitmounted system are much easier to handle and so on. Estimating the differences in costs per year regarding these factors point to strong economic reasons to choose an underground solution instead of a below-the-bridge installation. Even if the amount of investment is higher for the pit system, the pay back time is very short. And after that period of a certain number of months, the airport enjoys the advantage of distinctly lower operating costs decade after decade.

The importance of the operating costs is so overwhelming that it is advantageous to install the system also when renovating existing airports. And the costs of labour, waiting, cool air losses, maintenance etc and the weight of environmental and safety/security concerns will continuously increase in the future making the Combibox System even more competitive.

COMBIBOX SYSTEM SCANDINAVIA AB
Virkesvagen 19
12007 Stockholm
Sweden

 

 

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