On July 4th East Island Aviation took the wraps of another two Commute-A-Walk® retractable passenger walkways in Japan.
The two new walkways installed at Ibaragi Airport north of Tokyo are the first in 2017 with two more scheduled for Narita later in the year.
“It’s been a long , and sometimes challenging road over the last 15 years promoting the patented ground boarding walkway but it is finally paying off”, says Jim Larson founding partner and inventor of Commute-A-Walk®.
And without the dedication of East Island Aviation’s exclusive Japanese teaming partner, Aviation Research Institute, none of these installations would have ever taken place.
Aviation Research Institute’s founder and managing director, Kenichi Oyama struggled early on with getting the aviation culture to accept the name “Commute-A-Walk®”, so he came up with the trademarked name “ Apron Roof®” which is now widely accepted as the standard for ground boarding walkways. With multiple installations throughout Japan, the U.S. made product is gaining momentum quickly. A recent Japanese aviation industry press release about a new LCC terminal being constructed at Cyubu’s Centrair Airport confirmed the terminal operator’s commitment to install Commute-A-Walk® retractable passenger walkways. The cost to operate and maintain these retractable walkways is a fraction of the cost of a passenger boarding bridge.
For more information on Commute-A-Walk® and other ground boarding equipment and solutions, feel free to contact us.
