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Outsourcing Our Safety (JetBlue Heavy Maintenance El Salvador)
Washingtonpost.com ^ | September 28, 2005 | Harold Meyerson

Posted on 10/03/2005 12:09:33 AM PDT by RunningWolf

"the seventh time that the front wheels on an Airbus A-320 have gotten locked in the wrong position..

..JetBlue's long-term maintenance of its aircraft. When the planes are inspected for damage and then reassembled, the work takes place either in Canada or El Salvador...

JetBlue doesn't fly outside the United States..

Salvadoran mechanics make $300 to $1,000 a month..Roughly one-third of the Salvadoran mechanics have passed the exam that qualifies them for the Federal Aviation Administration's license, while in the United States, such licenses are required for all mechanics employed directly by the airlines."

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Government; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: airsafety; corporateethics; faainspections; fars; jetblue; maintenance; outsourced
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The article is a few days old, but it higlights the current maintenance practices for a large segment of US Airlines.
1 posted on 10/03/2005 12:09:35 AM PDT by RunningWolf
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To: RunningWolf
They're trying to cut costs. They can't raise ticket prices so they have to rein in operating expenses to keep afloat.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
2 posted on 10/03/2005 12:12:57 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: RunningWolf

It highlights more than that.

It highlights the fact that AMERICA'S STRINGENT REGULATIONS, ACCOMPANIED WITH OUTRAGEOUS UNION DEMANDS, have forced companies to take business offshore in order to make a profit.

Profit! That's what you lose when you start a business and the government and/or unions nickel and dime you to death.

Profit: What a concept. Without profit a company cannot expand and add JOBS!! If you want jobs, you have to allow companies to make a profit.

If all those restrictions were removed from American companies, they could return home and conduct all of their maintenance here. Still .. that's no guarantee of accident free flying.


3 posted on 10/03/2005 12:31:56 AM PDT by CyberAnt (America has the greatest military on the face of the earth.)
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To: RunningWolf

I'm not sure I buy this regulation argument. Labor costs, yes, but regulation? An FAA approved repair facility has the same rules whether it's in the USA or overseas. The FARs don't change because you leave the country.


4 posted on 10/03/2005 12:36:42 AM PDT by MikeGranby
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To: CyberAnt
If all those restrictions were removed from American companies, they could return home and conduct all of their maintenance here.

Which specific restrictions need to be removed to get Jet Blue to repatriate their maintence? Requiring only trained and certified mechanics?

5 posted on 10/03/2005 1:25:50 AM PDT by konaice
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To: MikeGranby
The FARs don't change because you leave the country.

Yes, they do.

Go to the link and read the article.

6 posted on 10/03/2005 1:26:54 AM PDT by konaice
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To: goldstategop
They're trying to cut costs. They can't raise ticket prices so they have to rein in operating expenses to keep afloat.

They HAVE TO cut costs! Do we have any solid numbers on just how must revenue that Union parasites suck out of a healthy business? I would do anything to circumvent legalized robbery such as that foisted on American business by unions.

7 posted on 10/03/2005 2:30:02 AM PDT by Caipirabob (Democrats.. Socialists..Commies..Traitors...Who can tell the difference?)
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To: Caipirabob
There are multiple culprits in this tale, but the primary one is the rise of unchecked shareholder power over the new-model corporation.

I agree that this is a problem but the bigger problem is that stock buyers don't take into consideration what moves the CEO made to increase the stock price. There is a big difference between price and value.

The author's solution is to eliminate stock options for CEOs and increase the power of labor unions. That shows his economic IQ. Unions and regulations are a much bigger problem than stock iptions for CEOs.

8 posted on 10/03/2005 5:48:07 AM PDT by Mind-numbed Robot (Not all that needs to be done needs to be done by the government.)
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To: konaice

No, they don't. Are you suggesting that every landing-gear repair in the U.S. is inspected by the FAA?


9 posted on 10/03/2005 5:51:23 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: konaice
The FARs don't change because you leave the country.

I assume the part below is what you are talking about.

Roughly one-third of the Salvadoran mechanics have passed the exam that qualifies them for the Federal Aviation Administration's license, while in the United States, such licenses are required for all mechanics employed directly by the airlines.

However, that doesn't mean the FARs have changed or are being ignored. Perhaps, and I don't know but I certainly don't trust the WP to tell me, that all work done on U.S. carrier planes must be done by the licensed workers or at least the work inspected by licensed inspectors. Like I said, I don't know, but the above does not necessarily mean what you say.

10 posted on 10/03/2005 5:54:38 AM PDT by Mind-numbed Robot (Not all that needs to be done needs to be done by the government.)
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To: RunningWolf

The 'Invisible Hand' is writing on the wall: "Don't fly Jet Blue".


11 posted on 10/03/2005 6:06:34 AM PDT by investigateworld ( Abortion stops a beating heart.)
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To: RunningWolf

More regulations? More unionization? This article is rather short on facts, and rather too full of socialist guff from Barry Lynn. I take it this is Barry C. Lynn, not Barry W. Lynn, the director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. But still.

Are the Canadian and Salvadoran inspectors qualified? Perhaps they are paid less, as this article notes, but are they qualified? That would seem to be the important point.

Or, if the ground crews in the U.S. weren't all unionized, overpaid, and underworked, maybe we could do the inspections here.


12 posted on 10/03/2005 6:24:16 AM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: RunningWolf
"The article is a few days old, but it higlights the current maintenance practices for a large segment of US Airlines."

You can blame the unions for this. High union wages and benefits are forcing airlines with their own maintenance crews into bankruptcy. For them it is outsource or go out of business. If only the unions weren't so greedy.
13 posted on 10/03/2005 6:54:01 AM PDT by monday
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To: CyberAnt

Well was not in this article, but I hear you.

Wolf


14 posted on 10/03/2005 8:45:41 AM PDT by RunningWolf (tag line limbo)
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To: CyberAnt
Profit! That's what you lose when you start a business and the government and/or unions nickel and dime you to death. Profit: What a concept. Without profit a company cannot expand and add JOBS!! If you want jobs, you have to allow companies to make a profit. If all those restrictions were removed from American companies, they could return home and conduct all of their maintenance here. Still .. that's no guarantee of accident free flying.

How nearsighted can you be? If all the domestic airlines would do their maintenance in the USA, they would have to meet American safety regulations.

"SAFETY" Without safety, nobody will fly.

"QUALITY ASSURANCE" means inspectors following up on maintenance actions to assure the job is doen right. There will be no "profit" when you plane bores a hole in the ground.

15 posted on 10/03/2005 8:51:46 AM PDT by MarshallDillon ( Hire the VET!)
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To: MikeGranby
The FARs don't change because you leave the country.

True, but the oversight goes away. You can hide a lot under a fresh coat of paint or by employing a bunch of pencil-whip supervisors.

16 posted on 10/03/2005 8:54:14 AM PDT by MarshallDillon ( Hire the VET!)
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To: MikeGranby
FAR 145 was relaxed a few years ago , that why I incvluded regulation argument.

Wolf
17 posted on 10/03/2005 8:55:38 AM PDT by RunningWolf (tag line limbo)
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To: Cicero
I don't know who Barry Lynn is nor his record. However Lou Dobbs has been on this to.

Wolf
18 posted on 10/03/2005 9:00:36 AM PDT by RunningWolf (tag line limbo)
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To: RunningWolf
The article is a few days old

Yes, it's already been posted here: Outsourcing Our Safety

BTW, Welcome to FreeRepublic.
Posting a duplicate thread is not a Mortal Sin,
but we do request that you utilize the title search function before posting, just to try to keep duplicates to a minimum. Thank-you.
Vanity Post on Vanity Posts, Duplicate Posts, Trash Posts, Commie Propaganda, etc., Vol V, No. 1

19 posted on 10/03/2005 9:05:55 AM PDT by Willie Green (Go Pat Go!!!)
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To: Willie Green
I had done a search, and nothing popped up on it.

Wolf
20 posted on 10/03/2005 9:19:11 AM PDT by RunningWolf (tag line limbo)
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