outstanding perspective from an ACTIVE DL mechanic.
esp. this
"you want to know why a union isn't really talked about? because for our craft the union has been such an epic fail that its pointless. Maybe if that side ever gets its crap together....
"sometimes its better not to mess with the many, to help the few."
.......i always feel like you sit at your computer for hours figuring out to twist ones words.
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as for outsourcing airframe maintenance, I can understand your argument. I don't think anyone can doubt that anyone can do the work better or faster than US workers -and that is true whether we are talking about AA, DL, or US.
the difference between Delta and the other big three(WN,AA,UA) is our cost are lower. IIRC it was 10 cents+ per ASM lower.
Why? our people per plane is lower. (and i think compared to UA/AA it was a nice margin lower)
but you can't also argue that airlines should just create hundreds of new jobs to bring work back in the US when there is ample evidence that business growth in the US is being hindered by growing regulation, including Obamacare which will add hundreds of millions of dollars in costs to DL - because they have said so.
sure I can. Delta is creating hundreds of jobs in Mexico....why can't it be done here?
Again, you keep bringing up cost. Cost. Cost. cost. I'm telling you the company has even acknowledged that the margins on the work that is sent out is getting smaller and smaller and smaller. So even with all the cost pressure in the US, Delta still sends the work out and it is very marginally done cheaper. (and again, we aren't adding in the potential cost of the aircraft......that cost would probably make it flat or loss making to send the aircraft out)
In other words, you wall street guys who really don't know whats going on, are quickly running out of excuses.
As for the Mexico hangar, it is not open is it? If it isn't, then it probably isn't a surprise there are no contracts. If it is, then I would expect there is a ramp up period before they want to start aggressively going after contracts.
uhhh......do you know how that kind of thing works?
lets say they have a three bay hangar, do you think they want the hangar open, tooled and staffed......then wait days, weeks, months, years for a plane to come into a bay?
In other words, your saying they will build, staff, tool the hangar....then bid on contracts. think about that, then try again with a better excuse please
DL might not send out engine overhauls along with airframe overhauls, but other airlines do, even if it is to different vendors. It has to do with technical expertise. DL wins engine business because it is worth it for airlines in other parts of the world to truck an engine for several hundred miles to an airport that DL serves to then fly it to the US, have it overhauled, and then repeat the process. That is a fairly high degree of expertise in order to justify that kind of process, esp. when the margin on that type of work is well into the double digits.
so now you are back tracking. Mexico is to get engine work for Delta. but its not. but it is. but not really.
see this is yalls problem. A half way intelligent human takes all the political and wall street talk and ignores it, then shoots your logic all the s**t. Delta's engine shops, back shops and US hangars will gain very, very little from that hangar. If TechOps cost to much now, its still going to cost to much (or to slow, or doesn't have a the ability, etc) with or without Mexico. they have nothing to do with each other. nothing.
So your and management's party line of how its going to magically bring in allllll this work to Atlanta is a bunch of horse crap. It is another way to try to get control over Delta's HMVs because they refuse to bring it back in house like it should be. thats what it is.
The lack of any contracts or even.....much talk at all about the building..... is just even more proof.
Even if DL wanted to do its overhauls in house they would have to acquire enormous amounts of hangar space since airframe overhauls take up a lot of space and all of the US airlines have significantly cut the amount of inhouse hangar space they have. Even though some quality spacemight exist in the US, it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire maintenance space necessary to bring back any significant amount of airframe overhauls.
horse crap it would cost hundreds of millions. My goodness.
AAR is grabbing up hangar space like its friggin nothing. Delta just made nearly 3 billion they can afford to build a MX base or two to handle the overhaul work.
Of and again MEXICO!!!!!!!! Or are you telling me the Mexico hangar will be free.............?
Given that DL is aggressively paying down debt and paying cash for new aircraft, the cost to start bringing maintenance back in house is very high.
not
even
comparable
Heck, US cities would be falling all over themselves to build a facility(s) for Delta. you don't think the City of Atlanta and State of Georgia wouldn't magically find space/money for another Jet base at ATL?
thanks for the tip, but I can assure you that I have no influence on Wall Street or mahogany row.
