Any Truth To The Rumor.....

[continuous ignition]

Any truth to the rumor that Delta is looking to contract out all heavy mx?

I heard widebodys were going to Asia and narrowbodys are going to Central America.

 

[WorldTraveler]

I'm not in the loop but I doubt that "all" will happen in the foreseeable future. DL has had the lowest maintenance costs in the legacy industry + WN for years so they are fully competitive. Nonetheless, DL is not profitable and if they believe contracting out will save even more money, they are likely to do it. The biggest thing that will cut heavy maintenance costs will be getting rid of the 737 classic fleets. It was interesting that Mike Palumbo commented that no decision has been finalized on which aircraft would be removed from the fleet over the next few years but I heard him say on the airline conference call that the MD-80/90 could be thinned - the first time I've heard that said. Based on their age and their less than competitive fuel economy, some MD-80s could be retired within the next five years w/o a writeoff but the average fleet age and the earliest deliveries indicate there are some MD-80s that are about 10 years old - a little young to start parking a large fleet.

 

[DalMD88]

There are a lot of rumors spreading around the hangar about possible outsourcing of MTX. We have been told everyting is on the table and being looked at. We still need to eliminate 500-900 positions in Tech Ops to make the staffing reductions for 2005. Not all of those need to be mechanics, but many suspect the majority of them will be. Retireing the 737 has eliminated on maintenance line already. Any remaining Heavy or Mid visits are being contracted out. Currentlly Avborne in MIA has one in work. Rumor has it the visit is becoming a nightmare. The space freed up by the 737 line is now occupied by one of the 757 HMV lines that moved from DFW.

Some of the places we have heard the planes could be going include El Salvador, Mexico, and Canada for narrow bodies. With wide bodies looking to go to China. It will all be fine in the end, because remember these are jobs Americains don't what. Most of us would rather be selling cell phone plans to people selling cell phone plans. Welcome to Walmart, would you like fries with that?