FAA levies largest fine against airline

The "crack" in LCC's is starting to show!

Its Obvious now why they make Money....They Dont Pay to Maintain their Planes..Makes you Wonder what else they are Not Doing !!!

Well... Well.... what have we found here? Perhaps some cheap Maintenance by the Cheapest of the Cheap airlines? Well sure looks like it! I wonder what else has been swept under the carpet seeing how they outsource a great bit of their maintenance? Thes airlines have been getting away with CHEAP Maintenance for yrs. You see the Discount carriers sending their planes all the way to El Slavador, ie Jet Blue, USAIR etc to get cheap maintenance done to save money. I wonder do these people get drug tested, do they have security background checks, are they trained and licensed mechanics? But then again the FAA says it's ok so they get away with it to save a dollar. Where is the "OUTRAGE" from the Senate Aviation Sub-Commitee? I wish Washington would spend more time investigating the airlines Maintenance Policies as they do Baseball and whether or not some player used Steroids. So will the politicians line up at the Press microphones and slam the airlines and wave sheets of paper and scream, "We are outraged by this finding", I doubt it. They do not want to upset the economy or large Corp. business during election time. So the airlines will quietly send their airlplanes off to El Slavador and even to China to get worked on, while American workers hit the streets and we will wonder, as we sit down in the chaep economy seat, whether the mechanic that worked on this could read and understand enough English to read the manual, or did he do the work a certain way because he was told to do it that way? I wonder also.... did he undergo a drug and alcohol test? Did he undergo a security background check?

A little bird told me that U#$t&d has had not one, but two A320's go off in the grass after touchdown in the last month due to break antiskid being wired backwards by, you guessed it, cheap non-union mechanics. Upon checking they found eight more with bad wiring.

A little bird told me that U#$t&d has had not one, but two A320's go off in the grass after touchdown in the last month due to brake antiskid being wired backwards by, you guessed it, cheap non-union mechanics. Upon checking they found eight more with bad wiring.

As long as these companys try to cut cost by sending their a/c outside the USA, this is going to be an on going problem that"s only going to get worse. You get what you pay for folks.

Think about this folks. What we have now is highly trained USA pilots dealing with sub standard maintenance, and doing a damned good job if I may say so. On neither of the A320's that went off the runway due to bad maintenance was anybody hurt. John McCain has said that he favors foreign airlines flying unrestricted, point to point within the US. At that point you have questionably trained, fatigued, poorly supported (anybody remember the south american jet that landed short in a Long Island neighborhood after it ran out of gas in part due to language problems, and no help from their dispatcher) foreign airlines flying your family on poorly maintained aircraft. Safety didn't come by accident (no pun intended), and it's not free. Wake up folks.

Cable Guy wrote:

Well... Well.... what have we found here? Perhaps some cheap Maintenance by the Cheapest of the Cheap airlines? Well sure looks like it! I wonder what else has been swept under the carpet seeing how they outsource a great bit of their maintenance? Thes airlines have been getting away with CHEAP Maintenance for yrs. You see the Discount carriers sending their planes all the way to El Slavador, ie Jet Blue, USAIR etc to get cheap maintenance done to save money. I wonder do these people get drug tested, do they have security background checks, are they trained and licensed mechanics? But then again the FAA says it's ok so they get away with it to save a dollar. Where is the "OUTRAGE" from the Senate Aviation Sub-Commitee? I wish Washington would spend more time investigating the airlines Maintenance Policies as they do Baseball and whether or not some player used Steroids. So will the politicians line up at the Press microphones and slam the airlines and wave sheets of paper and scream, "We are outraged by this finding", I doubt it. They do not want to upset the economy or large Corp. business during election time. So the airlines will quietly send their airlplanes off to El Slavador and even to China to get worked on, while American workers hit the streets and we will wonder, as we sit down in the chaep economy seat, whether the mechanic that worked on this could read and understand enough English to read the manual, or did he do the work a certain way because he was told to do it that way? I wonder also.... did he undergo a drug and alcohol test? Did he undergo a security background check?

Well said!

Sounds like more than a few bloggers are bitter about loosing cushy jobs at larger airlines! Yes, Southwest keeps cost low to make a stable enviroment for their employees. That's economics 101. Duh! Southwest also has one of the BEST maintenance and safety rcords in aviation history. Read the rest of the story. All airlines including United, American, Delta are sending planes to other countries for maintenance that is overseen and inspected by the FAA and US mechanics. It has been happening for years.

Happy2B wrote:

Sounds like more than a few bloggers are bitter about loosing cushy jobs at larger airlines! Yes, Southwest keeps cost low to make a stable enviroment for their employees. That's economics 101. Duh! Southwest also has one of the BEST maintenance and safety rcords in aviation history. Read the rest of the story. All airlines including United, American, Delta are sending planes to other countries for maintenance that is overseen and inspected by the FAA and US mechanics. It has been happening for years.

Obviously you never went to college and don't know the first thing about economics or what United, American or Delta are doing. The only thing you said that fits you was "Duh".

Happy2B wrote:

Sounds like more than a few bloggers are bitter about loosing cushy jobs at larger airlines! Yes, Southwest keeps cost low to make a stable enviroment for their employees. That's economics 101. Duh! Southwest also has one of the BEST maintenance and safety rcords in aviation history. Read the rest of the story. All airlines including United, American, Delta are sending planes to other countries for maintenance that is overseen and inspected by the FAA and US mechanics. It has been happening for years.

Sure pal. I bet that's just what those scared pax thought as plowed off the runway and through the snow bank," Those bitter employees, they need to get a grip. Obviously everything is just fine."

The point is Anger and bitterness abounds at most airline companies. Thanks for making my point!

Bitter? Yep! Angry? Of course! Judgement impared do to anger and bitterness? Absolutely! Take a breath and get a clear head before jumping to conclusions.

Fritz wrote:

<quoted text>
Obviously you never went to college and don't know the first thing about economics or what United, American or Delta are doing. The only thing you said that fits you was "Duh".

Pal? Where did you get that impression? Bitter, party of ONE...your retirement table is ready!

2 cents wrote:

<quoted text>Sure pal. I bet that's just what those scared pax thought as plowed off the runway and through the snow bank," Those bitter employees, they need to get a grip. Obviously everything is just fine."

SAN FRANCISCO , March 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/-- Hundreds of supporters including Teamsters, United Airline (UAL)(Nasdaq: UAUA) mechanics, Bay Area union members and elected officials joined Teamsters Union General President Jim Hoffa and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom today at a rally on the steps of City Hall to protest a plan by UAL to outsource nearly 4,500 jobs at its San Francisco International Airport (SFO) maintenance facility.

United currently outsources 45 percent of all its maintenance work to foreign repair stations. If a proposed plan by UAL to close the maintenance facility at SFO is allowed to occur, more than 4,500 Bay Area jobs could be lost.

"In Indianapolis , United closed down the maintenance base and thousands lost their jobs and it devastated the community," said Rich Petrovsky, an airline mechanic at the SFO facility. "It's time to stop outsourcing and mechanics at United are drawing the line. We are working with the Teamsters and we say to United enough is enough."

Fritz wrote:

<quoted text>
Obviously you never went to college and don't know the first thing about economics or what United, American or Delta are doing. The only thing you said that fits you was "Duh".

Can You Name the Company or Country where American sends its Airplanes to get Inspected????

What about Northwest Airlines? After the mechanics strike, they racked up so much deferred maintenance. They had so many smoke incidences in their aircraft, wheels falling off. Why have they never been fined or investigated?

Can't name the country but TWU (The American Mechanics Union)has responded that 20-30 percent of all American Airlines maintenance is outsourced. When questioned,the quote from the DOT is as follows:
American outsources 20 percent of its aircraft maintenance -- one of the lowest figures in the industry. Southwest Airlines, by contrast, outsources more than 50 percent of its repair work.

Sampson wrote:

<quoted text>Can You Name the Company or Country where American sends its Airplanes to get Inspected????

Happy2B wrote:

Bitter? Yep! Angry? Of course! Judgement impared do to anger and bitterness? Absolutely! Take a breath and get a clear head before jumping to conclusions.
<quoted text>

Bitter? Yep! Angry? Of course! Judgement impared do to anger and bitterness? Absolutely! Take a breath and get a clear head before jumping to conclusions.

Actually I take back my previous post...It sounds like an egotistical idiot wrote it.