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OT: airline outsourcing
Those of us who fly commercial might find this old article interesting...
BTW, in my youth I was a airframe mechanic but that was a decades ago.
Ken in Miami
smokin' a Villiger Export maduro and I like it
Airlines Outsourcing More Maintenance
January 22, 2005
Their business plans differ in many ways, but there's one area where
major airlines and their cut-rate competitors agree: maintenance is a
lot cheaper when it's performed by lower-paid mechanics working for
outsourcers.
JetBlue, Southwest, America West, Northwest and United are among the
carriers who outsource major maintenance of their aircraft to
contractors in other countries, according to a report in The Wall Street
Journal.
• As JetBlue's new A320 Airbus fleet ages, aircraft are sent to a repair
hub in El Salvador;
• America West also sends its jets to El Salvador;
• Southwest has always outsourced its major maintenance;
• US Airways mechanics agreed Friday to pay cuts and the outsourcing of
2,000 mechanics jobs;
• Northwest sends its wide-body jets to Singapore and Hong Kong;
• Bankrupt United Airlines recently won union approval to begin using
outside contractors for heavy maintenance.
It wasn't long ago that major airlines employed their own highly-skilled
mechanics, each with his or her own Federal Aviation Administration
license. The mechanics, who often studied for two years before taking
the test, could make $60 or more per hour.
Mechanics working for outsourcers don't have to be licensed. Only
supervisors are required to hold FAA licenses and are responsible for
oversight of the mechanics, who in countries like El Salvador may make
$10 to $20 per hour.
Is this endangering long-term safety of the U.S. commercial fleet? The
airlines say no but others aren't sure.
Last year, investigators found that deficient maintenance by an outside
vendor was partly to blame for the 2003 crash of a commuter flight in
Charlotte, N.C. that killed 21 people.
In 1999, ValuJet flight 592 crashed into the Florida Everglades after
taking off from Miami International Airport, killing all 110 on board.
The crash was attributed to oxygen canisters improperly stowed in the
aircraft's hold by maintenance employees working for an outside contractor.
In 2003, the Department of Transportation's Inspector General said the
FAA was inadequately supervising outside contractors while devoting too
many of its resources to oversight of in-house maintenance operations.
Airline spokesmen contend that the overseas maintenance contractors are
more tightly supervised than the airlines' own mechanics. After all, the
argument goes, they work on aircraft from airlines around the world and
are subject to supervision by major European and Asian governments.
American Airlines says it prefers to keep heavy maintenance in-house
because it has a well-trained, highly seasoned workforce. It outsources
only 20% of its maintenance and none of its heavy tear-downs.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/airline_maintenance.html
BTW, in my youth I was a airframe mechanic but that was a decades ago.
Ken in Miami
smokin' a Villiger Export maduro and I like it
Airlines Outsourcing More Maintenance
January 22, 2005
Their business plans differ in many ways, but there's one area where
major airlines and their cut-rate competitors agree: maintenance is a
lot cheaper when it's performed by lower-paid mechanics working for
outsourcers.
JetBlue, Southwest, America West, Northwest and United are among the
carriers who outsource major maintenance of their aircraft to
contractors in other countries, according to a report in The Wall Street
Journal.
• As JetBlue's new A320 Airbus fleet ages, aircraft are sent to a repair
hub in El Salvador;
• America West also sends its jets to El Salvador;
• Southwest has always outsourced its major maintenance;
• US Airways mechanics agreed Friday to pay cuts and the outsourcing of
2,000 mechanics jobs;
• Northwest sends its wide-body jets to Singapore and Hong Kong;
• Bankrupt United Airlines recently won union approval to begin using
outside contractors for heavy maintenance.
It wasn't long ago that major airlines employed their own highly-skilled
mechanics, each with his or her own Federal Aviation Administration
license. The mechanics, who often studied for two years before taking
the test, could make $60 or more per hour.
Mechanics working for outsourcers don't have to be licensed. Only
supervisors are required to hold FAA licenses and are responsible for
oversight of the mechanics, who in countries like El Salvador may make
$10 to $20 per hour.
Is this endangering long-term safety of the U.S. commercial fleet? The
airlines say no but others aren't sure.
Last year, investigators found that deficient maintenance by an outside
vendor was partly to blame for the 2003 crash of a commuter flight in
Charlotte, N.C. that killed 21 people.
In 1999, ValuJet flight 592 crashed into the Florida Everglades after
taking off from Miami International Airport, killing all 110 on board.
The crash was attributed to oxygen canisters improperly stowed in the
aircraft's hold by maintenance employees working for an outside contractor.
In 2003, the Department of Transportation's Inspector General said the
FAA was inadequately supervising outside contractors while devoting too
many of its resources to oversight of in-house maintenance operations.
Airline spokesmen contend that the overseas maintenance contractors are
more tightly supervised than the airlines' own mechanics. After all, the
argument goes, they work on aircraft from airlines around the world and
are subject to supervision by major European and Asian governments.
American Airlines says it prefers to keep heavy maintenance in-house
because it has a well-trained, highly seasoned workforce. It outsources
only 20% of its maintenance and none of its heavy tear-downs.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/airline_maintenance.html
"Ken Dixon" <nsvmiami@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:IeMLj.31349$dT.21643@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
> Those of us who fly commercial might find this old article interesting...
> BTW, in my youth I was a airframe mechanic but that was a decades ago.
>
> Ken in Miami
> smokin' a Villiger Export maduro and I like it
>
> Airlines Outsourcing More Maintenance
>
>
> January 22, 2005
> Their business plans differ in many ways, but there's one area where major
> airlines and their cut-rate competitors agree: maintenance is a lot
> cheaper when it's performed by lower-paid mechanics working for
> outsourcers.
>
> JetBlue, Southwest, America West, Northwest and United are among the
> carriers who outsource major maintenance of their aircraft to contractors
> in other countries, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
Just so you know, WSJ has been trending more and more towards
Marxism/Buchannanism for some years now.
>
> • As JetBlue's new A320 Airbus fleet ages, aircraft are sent to a repair
> hub in El Salvador;
> • America West also sends its jets to El Salvador;
> • Southwest has always outsourced its major maintenance;
> • US Airways mechanics agreed Friday to pay cuts and the outsourcing of
> 2,000 mechanics jobs;
> • Northwest sends its wide-body jets to Singapore and Hong Kong;
> • Bankrupt United Airlines recently won union approval to begin using
> outside contractors for heavy maintenance.
Are these not
> http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/airline_maintenance.html
