what's the maintenance plan?

[dfw gen]

ok after a little thought and consideration i beleive this is the way it will go:

Tulsa will probably within the next 12-48 months be half the size it is today. Why? simply because the company at THIS TIME does not need that much capabilty. think about it. when the md80's,757's and 767's go away and they replace the narrow body fleet they simply will not need it. now in the next 7-10 years Tulsa will start to expand as the fleet ages.

so now why does the company want a six year contract? simply to right size the maintenance program, hey bankruptcy gives them the ability to go for the gusto! if they eliminate scope it allows them to get over the little bumps in the road i.e. the 757's that went to timco. the 777's are going away for two reasons first its a little bump in the road that Tulsa could not handle at the minute. second its an experiment to see IF IT WILL WORK. they will come back from the contrator and we will keep it in the hangar for a few weeks and eventually the company will bring it back, SIMPLY because they like control.

why do the want article 42? and job protection? hey when i buy something i want the best price and terms i can get! so if your in bankruptcy you might as well go for it all. if i know that im going to lay off 3000 peolple in the 3-4 years and i DONT have to pay them severance i.e. $12,500 why should I?

AFW going away, simply not needed in the long term.

its just business its not line versus overhaul its just a business cycle that we are in right now.

so if you vote yes your are basically postponing your layoff for a while and the move will be at your expense. you will get back to Tusa in 5-7 years (at your expense) thats about it. if you have the seniority and you would have to check the list would you remain in Tulsa and as a mechanic or an OSM? but the cuts in Tulsa will be deep for a period of time. the jobs that are saved will be short term.

the only leverage that we possibly have if it is desirable for the company to have all cotracts settled before exiting banruptcy. so voting no is basically exerting your leveage. will we get a lot more probably not but we may keep some scope and job protection.

i dont think aa wants to get rid of overhaul they just like the control. but it is a downturn and yes its going to happen one way or the other.

good luck all!

 

[La Li Lu Le Lo]

I have talked with some of the mechanics that have been at the base for decades. They have gone through fleet changes before. Their take is that new aircraft do not really have much of an impact on work load. The reason is the new aircraft fresh from the factory are not up to AMR standards. Over the time it takes to manufacture the aircraft the fleets interior design has been modified (and some mechanical or part updates I am sure,Wi-Fi for instance), sometimes several times.

I believe it is cheaper to have AMR employees make the interior / mechanical updates than it is to have Boeing and Airbus do it.

I am not saying this will be like those times. However, history has shown that fleet changes do not necessarily reflect lower work loads so we have history on our side. It is not like we get all new aircraft over night. The process will take years. We still have older aircraft that need to be maintained and new aircraft that need to be modified. Then after the fleet is replaced the first aircraft we received are due another check. We shall see.

Frankly I think AMR hiring all these people fresh off the street and moving building cleaners into aircraft cleaning is a way to pad numbers. They want to say they laid off X amount of mechanics (and by that I mean any title one, aircraft cleaners included) but most of those will be a) retirees or b ) new employees that are not qualified anyway. It is just a way to follow through with a threat that has no real impact. It is a numbers game. That is my belief.

 

[700UW]

You to have a license to work the line, if you work on the airplane, it has to be signed off in the logbook.

And I know at US if a job card is involved so you have to stamp it and whomever works on an airplane is documented, at least that is what goes on at US.

 

[Frank Szabo]

I have talked with some of the mechanics that have been at the base for decades. They have gone through fleet changes before. Their take is that new aircraft do not really have much of an impact on work load. The reason is the new aircraft fresh from the factory are not up to AMR standards. Over the time it takes to manufacture the aircraft the fleets interior design has been modified (and some mechanical or part updates I am sure,Wi-Fi for instance), sometimes several times.

I believe it is cheaper to have AMR employees make the interior / mechanical updates than it is to have Boeing and Airbus do it.

I am not saying this will be like those times. However, history has shown that fleet changes do not necessarily reflect lower work loads so we have history on our side. It is not like we get all new aircraft over night. The process will take years. We still have older aircraft that need to be maintained and new aircraft that need to be modified. Then after the fleet is replaced the first aircraft we received are due another check. We shall see.

Frankly I think AMR hiring all these people fresh off the street and moving building cleaners into aircraft cleaning is a way to pad numbers. They want to say they laid off X amount of mechanics (and by that I mean any title one, aircraft cleaners included) but most of those will be a) retirees or b ) new employees that are not qualified anyway. It is just a way to follow through with a threat that has no real impact. It is a numbers game. That is my belief.

I'll be surprised if anything remotely resembling a "plan" emerges. What I see now is a grab for all that can be grabbed, picking up the pieces as they present themselves.

 

[Buck]

I'll be surprised if anything remotely resembling a "plan" emerges. What I see now is a grab for all that can be grabbed, picking up the pieces as they present themselves.

Who is going to determine the number of mechanics with A&P tickets at the bases?

Who is going to determine the scope of the manufacturing, the machinist etc?

 

[1AA]

It is obvious that by looking at the LBO AA has a very wide option of doing as they please. I believe this because I know AA does not know the numbers as well. They can not get their outsourcing finalized on their terms. Everything is open so this is why we have the language on this LBO as is. Our union leadership must be getting a back door deal if this LBO passes. We pretty much have no agreement at this point. AA will do what they want when they want to and how they want to because this LBO will allow it to happen. (if it passes) Did you guys see all the profits and loads this past quarter?
Everyone made money including Boeing. Business is thriving.

 

[MCI transplant]

Who is going to determine the number of mechanics with A&P tickets at the bases?

Who is going to determine the scope of the manufacturing, the machinist etc?

Come on Buck! You know the answeer to that!----- The bean counters! That's who! They'll go the cheapest way they can! It has nothing to do with saftey,or quaility of work, just the bottom line!!!Reality of the Industry today!----Sad! Sad!

 

[comatose]

I think this company wants to run a virtual airline w/o any employees.

 

[FWAAA]

This may be overly simplistic, but I think the maintenance plan was revealed last summer when AA announced that huge order for 460 new single aisle planes: AA does not intend to do very many more heavy C checks on MD-80s or the older 757s, as they will go to the desert as new planes come on line. And since those new planes don't need a heavy check for their first 5-6 years (and I heard that AA was trying to convince the FAA to extend that time), that gives MROs (domestic and foreign) plenty of time to ramp up capacity to be ready for those planes in future years.

For example, Aeroman had just four hangar bays until 2008, when it opened two more for a total of six. Two years later, it added another bay, and last year, another bay, for a total of eight. This spring, it built another hangar and now has 11 bays. Shouldn't be any problem building a couple of new hangars in the next five or six years for a total of two or three dozen bays. The Salvadoran countryside is full of uneducated teenagers who will gladly act as the $2/hr "helpers" to the $5/hr mechanics.

I don't see the domestic MROs being able to match that expansion, as nearly all of them have had dozens or hundreds of job openings for a long time now. In the US, mechanics capaple of fixing things won't settle for $25/hr. But in other countries, it's another story.

Tulsa will remain to handle work that the MROs can't do and to clean up the MRO's mistakes. I expect to see AA continue to overhaul engines in house, as even UAL kept that work at SFO while outsourcing all of its airframes.

 

[AC Tynker]

I think this company wants to run a virtual airline w/o any employees.

lol, Good point