Tag Archives: ground boarding equipment

New Passenger Walkway for Spirit Airlines in Chicago

Spirit Airlines passengers flying out of Gate L-11 in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport won’t have to be subject to the harsh winter weather anymore.

In a cooperative effort with the Chicago Depart of Aviation, Spirit purchased and contacted East Island Aviation to install a custom enclosed passenger walkway for their ground boarding operations. Similar to Denver’s ground boarding operation, ORD’s layout utilizes both “fixed mobile modules” with floors and expandable Commute-A-Walk® sections that mate up with a KCI Ramp. In addition to Spirit, a local regional carrier flying turbo-props, Chicago Air Express is allowed to use the walkway for their passengers too!

Unlike the AVI Ramp, the Commute-A-Walk® line and the KCI Ramp are both “Made in America”.

For more information on East Island Aviation’s Ground Boarding Equipment, please contact us.

United DASH-8 Passengers Are Dry & Safe At EWR!

commute-a-walk, ground boarding equipment, east island aviation, ewr, newark airport, united airlines United Airlines awarded a contract to East Island Aviation to design and install five Commute-A-Walk ® passenger walkways at the remote Hard Stand Regional Operation in Newark Liberty International Airport.

As a result of United’s recent growth in regional service out of EWR and with gate space at a premium, they were forced to quickly develop a DASH-8 Hard Stand Operation to accommodate the new flights.

Passengers are quickly bused from Gate #130 to each individual aircraft stand. Prior to the walkways, the only protection from the bus to the aircraft were a few Jersey barriers and construction cones.

East Island Aviation Services provided five walkways utilizing both mobile “FX” fixed modules and its patented flexible Commute-A-Walk ® sections. Buses pull right up to the back of the fixed sections at one end and Ramp Agents easily deploy the flexible sections to the KCI Ramp or directly to the aircraft stairs.

Passengers are protected from blowing wind, noise, and rain. Passengers have been quoted saying that they “really appreciate the little tunnels and Slinkys, especially when passengers are queued up on the stairs”.

Commute-A-Walk ® is an exclusive patented passenger walkway system and is offered in multiple configurations for ground level boarding operations. For more information about East Island Aviation’s Commute-A-Walk ® passenger walkway system, please Contact Us.

East Island Aviation Launches B-717 Mobile Ground Boarding Ramp in Australia!

B-717 Mobile Ground Boarding Ramp East Island Aviation Services launches the B-717 Mobile Ground Boarding Ramp in Australia!

Oceania Aviation purchased the first B-717 Mobile Ground Boarding Ramp to service Qantaslink’s Boeing-717 aircraft flying in and out of Hobart in Tasmania. The ramp was assembled by our exclusive Australian service agent Airport Maintenance Services (AMS) B-717 Mobile Ground Boarding Equipment East Island Aviation based in Launceston. The ramp has been fitted with our Crown TR4500 3-wheel tug tractor which will reduce docking time nearly fivefold. Disabled wheel chair passengers will be able to board without the need for supplemental lifting devices. Oceania will be commissioning the ramp for service around the end of October.

For more information about the B-717 Mobile Ground Boarding Ramp, our Ground Boarding Equipment or other products, please Contact Us.

New Product: EMB-175 Switchback Gantry

East Island Aviation Services is proud to present our new product: the EMB-175 Switchback Gantry.

In October of this year, American Eagle brought the EMB-175 to Miami Int’l Airport. The Regional Terminal is equipped with 15 of East Island Aviation’s Regional Boarding Ramps that were designed to service the EMB-145 and CR-J 700 & 900 fleet. With the arrival of the 175, American contracted once again with East Island Aviation to retrofit the RBR’s with a switchback Gantry that could interface the existing RBR’s with the new EMB-175. The Gantry attaches directly to the chassis and enables the RBR’s to service the larger EMB-175 while still having the capability to service the lower sill height aircraft when required.