First 757 to outsourced MRO

[chris perry]

5CK arrived Oct 25 at GSO,planned induction 11-1-2011.Return to service date 12/08 planned FCF. Dates came and went,it's been almost two months OTS. Before Oct 25 was sitting in Desert for unknown amount of time, air frame was out of time. Last time I read a delay sheet on the BB they were saying a 5 min delay costs 37,000.00 dollars.Please explain?

 

[Bob Owens]

I guess the line could be outsourced also[/]

This doesn't have anything to do with the 757's being outsourced to TIMCO either, so I will move along.

Buck, this isn't news, there are plenty of providers of line maintenance, in fact a large percentage of our guys have worked for these providers for many years. Who do you think services all those international carriers at the IAT? It's one of the ways we dealt with trying to get by on a wage that's determined by people who live in a low cost city. It also used to be one of the primary conduits of information between mechanics. These providers hire people on a part time basis and you would usually find a pretty good mix of workers from other carriers there as well.

The company has a policy against working for competitors but Local managers have to live here as well (even some of those guys moonlightl) so they do not enforce it. They did try and crackdown once a while ago but they soon realized it was not worth it. The guys would get the money they needed one way or another and they make money when planes are on the ground.

Not only do our guys work for these maintenance providers but AA has been using them for years, when they pulled maintenance out of PVD they outsourced line maintenance there, the guy they hired was laid off from AA and chose not to bump. So outsourcing for line maintenance has always been around and practiced for a long time, and while the posted wages may be lower I can tell you from experience that deals are made which results in actual earnings per hour being much higher.

I did this for many years, especially when I first hired on to AA. I stopped doing it because even though the money was good the operations were substandard and I felt that it wasn't worth the risk of getting caught up into something there that could endanger my tickets and I had opportunities outside of Aviation to supplement my income. Very few people here can rely only on AA to survive.

 

[Overspeed]

5CK arrived Oct 25 at GSO,planned induction 11-1-2011.Return to service date 12/08 planned FCF. Dates came and went,it's been almost two months OTS. Before Oct 25 was sitting in Desert for unknown amount of time, air frame was out of time. Last time I read a delay sheet on the BB they were saying a 5 min delay costs 37,000.00 dollars.Please explain?

A one day delay/cancel is $14K if it is linked.

 

[TWU informer]

A one day delay/cancel is $14K if it is linked.

Reverse engineer that number.
Shouldn't AA be making $14K per day per 757 then?

 

[Vortilon]

Reverse engineer that number.
Shouldn't AA be making $14K per day per 757 then?

$14K per day for a seven five? It is way more than that. Before they locked us out, anybody with a DECS sign in could look up the revenue for any given flight in the sys. The amounts varied; however, even a full Super 80 from say DFW to MSP would show revenue of over $10K. The DFW to FRA wiebody trip would often show revenue over $200K. A 757 makes more than 14K per day!

 

[Buck]

A one day delay/cancel is $14K if it is linked.

I wask the Dock Manager the very same question. He reply was similar.

What I asked was what is the cost/day for a completed 737 out of overhaul waiting for revune trips. His reply was it was around $23000.00 and that is unlinked. Or in other words the aircraft still belongs to maintenance and not the airline. If the airline has no immediate need for the aircraft or has no aircraft for overhaul then the maintenance owned aircraft just sits. With the yields in jeopardy, I doubt that any aircraft sits very long. But the point is that the aircraft is owned by maintenance is not available to the airline. When the airline requires an aircraft to replace a timed out aircraft and the one they need is at TIMCO, delayed.

The aircraft is prepping for departure now

 

[tech2101]

$14K per day for a seven five? It is way more than that. Before they locked us out, anybody with a DECS sign in could look up the revenue for any given flight in the sys. The amounts varied; however, even a full Super 80 from say DFW to MSP would show revenue of over $10K. The DFW to FRA wiebody trip would often show revenue over $200K. A 757 makes more than 14K per day!

Revenue does not mean income or profit.

 

[TWU informer]

Revenue does not mean income or profit.

They don't get it!!
No wonder AA is in this position.

Maybe AA should consider sending ALL employees to business basics 101

 

[FWAAA]

When the airline is losing more than $3 million per day, an out of service aircraft might actually be saving AA money.

 

[tech2101]

When the airline is losing more than $3 million per day, an out of service aircraft might actually be saving AA money.

Exactly. Now we are talking about operating expenses.

FIN 101 anyone?

 

[Buck]

Exactly. Now we are talking about operating expenses.

FIN 101 anyone?

The only cost savings for an unlinked aircraft is the ability to move any labor to the next aircraft or an aircraft the could be potentially late. While this is not fully praticed in TUL, that is what management stated.

 

[Birdman]

Pilots were dispatched yesterday and 5CK is now awaiting a bearing. Maybe they sent the pilot that takes his shoes off for better rudder pedal feel.

 

[Buck]

Pilots were dispatched yesterday and 5CK is now awaiting a bearing. Maybe they sent the pilot that takes his shoes off for better rudder pedal feel.

5CK FCF

Several PIREPS, don't know if it is allowed to publicly post.

Alaback & Bean

 

[Overspeed]

A one day delay/cancel is $14K if it is linked.

Did I say something wrong? That's how much it costs.

On the plus side. If TIMCO is that late and there are a bunch of problems, it would be a great argument as to how outsourcing isn't the solution to AMR's ills.

 

[Buck]

Did I say something wrong? That's how much it costs.

On the plus side. If TIMCO is that late and there are a bunch of problems, it would be a great argument as to how outsourcing isn't the solution to AMR's ills.

I ask the Dock Manager the very same question. He reply was similar. 

What I asked was what is the cost/day for a completed 737 out
 of overhaul waiting for revenue trips. His reply was it was around 
$23000.00 and that is unlinked. Or in other words the aircraft
 still belongs to maintenance and not the airline. If the airline
 has no immediate need for the aircraft or has no aircraft for 
overhaul then the maintenance owned aircraft just sits. With
 the yields in jeopardy, I doubt that any aircraft sits very long.
 But the point is that the aircraft is owned by maintenance is
 not available to the airline. When the airline requires an aircraft
 to replace a timed out aircraft and the one they need is at
 TIMCO, delayed.

No I do not believe you did, however it would be nice if you had a source. $23000 is quite a difference from $14000 for an unlinked aircraft.