Just curious what component repair work US Airways is currently doing in house and outsourcing? I read a press release from Air Canada about a year ago that said because Air Canada was purchasing shares in US Airways, US Airways would be sending a considerable amount of component repair work to Air Canada Technical Services including Heavy Maintenance. Although, I haven’t heard anything else to supports this. Are the majority of their components still repaired in Pittsburgh?
US Airways Maintenance Outsourcing?
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The majority of the components are now Outsourced.
Air Canada is currently doing maintenance on the A330's.
BrutallyHonest
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Actually Air Canada could not finish the 330 in time and was in breach of contract. Usairways was allowed to break the contract with them because of this. They are looking for a new vendor to do the work, but they wont bring it back in clt. I also believe air canada cashed out there stock options for a nice profit.
Phantom Fixer
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Not entirely correct,
Air Canada Technical Services will continue the Heavy Checks on the A330-300 for at least one more seasonal cycle.
Per last weeks crew briefing with CLT Base Maintenances Director. The A330-300 work was put out for open bid...and NO Body other than ACTS was willing to absorb our seasonal work. All other 3rd party vendors for Heavy Maintenance , up to and including Lufthansa Tecknic did not wnat the work unless it kept them in work year around. With our way of schedulng on the A330's and the B767's..that will never happen
When questioned about the rumors of the work coming back to CLT as opposed to another round with ACTS...The answer boiled down to this....and Yes , I was there to hear this for myself
(1) The Wing Docks for the Heavy Dock in bay 3 were sold off while in Chapter 11 ...Thats a deal killer.
(2) CLT Base is too short staffed to take people away from the B737-300/400 tracks to go through recurrent training on the A330-300's at present
(4) So it boils down to tooling and training issues as the excuse for now...hopefully they have or will see the error in their ways...and CLT will be back to at least four tracks of work year around
Is any component repair work still done in house, (starters, generators, hydraulics, pneumatics) or is it all outsourced? It sounds like the only in-house work may be A and B checks and some C depending on the aircraft, is this correct?
awausairtech
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COMMON SENSE.
Docker
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We are also doing the heavy checks: CLT- 737 "Q's" and in PIT small airbus "S Checks". In CLT we are basically operating a galley shop, sheet metal shop, composite shop, although not separate departments but all operating out of Heavy Maintenance. We also operate an offsite QEC engine shop. There has been talk about bringing the Battery shop, and the O2 shop back in house.
I worked in Pit for 15 years as an A&P mechanic and for 15 years all they did was send all our work out to vendors.
I was right next to the battery shop when they dumped it. I remember an old timer literally crying on his decision to retire who had many years in the battery shop, yes crying. That was with close to 40 years seniority and BEFORE the slaughter the employees and still that guy was crying, today he probably would commit suicide.
Now everyone has the right to cry because that work is forever gone along with the wages and benefits, hopes and dreams. It's amazing to watch airline employees react to such dire circumstances. They put a very positive spin on all the bad news to help keep their sanity intact.
At one time and just like the Mills used to be, the airlines were THE place to work, nowadays they are no different then the sweat shops that corporate Americas wants everything work place to become, and they are succeeding by leaps and bounds.
I remember how the A&P tickets meant everything and getting them meant you had it made for life now it’s just a little piece of paper with the FAA name on it collecting dust and worth about as much.
Going into the aviation field these days knowing it’s realities doesn’t even make sense to a clear thinking individual. Unless you are an executive the benefits are simply no longer there for a young person to seriously consider making it a career of choice. The glamour is long gone with it the high wages and benefits and security. I’d rather be stationed in a Siberian ice station because the conditions would not be so brutal, and you would keep your sanity.
BrutallyHonest
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Thanks for the correction.
Yea, your right, the mechanics were always over paid buffoons with egos bigger than even their heads.
Yes, I agree. The saying that you can make a machinist into a mechanic but not the opposite is a fallacy.
You need laid Pit, a good serious lay would straighten you out. Need some direction?
The battery shop was not dumped, it was moved to the CLT hangar when the hangar was built, it was located on the 2nd floor of it.
Once again, don't let the facts get in your way.
And everyone could have followed their work or excercise their seniority.
