Chinese Aircraft Maintenance

[6KILLER]

Chinese aircraft maintenance



They say don't ask and don't tell. But you have to see this. Don't ask where we got this.
"For anybody who is not familiar with a jet engine, a jet fan blade should be perfectly smooth. You might want to think twice the next time you fly on a Chinese Airline.

A pilot for a Chinese carrier requested permission and landed at FRA, (Germany) for an unscheduled refueling stop. The reason became soon apparent to the ground crew: The Number 3 engine had been shutdown previously because of excessive vibration, and because it didn't look too good. It had apparently been no problem for the tough guys back in China: as they took some sturdy straps and wrapped them around two of the fan blades and the structures behind, thus stopping any unwanted windmilling (engine spinning by itself due to airflow passing through the blades during flight) and associated uncomfortable vibration caused by the suboptimal fan.

Note that the straps are seat belts....how resourceful! After making the "repairs", off they went into the wild blue yonder with another revenue-making flight on only three engines! With the increased fuel consumption, they got a bit low on fuel, and just set it down at the closest airport (FRA) for a quick refill.

That's when the problems started: The Germans, who are kind of picky about this stuff, inspected the malfunctioning engine and immediately grounded the aircraft. Besides the seat belts, notice the appalling condition of the fan blades. The airline operator had to send a chunk of money to get the first engine replaced (took about 10 days).

The repair contractor decided to do some impromptu inspection work on the other engines, none of which looked all that great either. The result: a total of 3 engines were eventually changed on this plane before it was permitted to fly again."

http://iagblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/...intenance.html

[America First]

Is that "Air Rickshaw ?"

Who Owns Swissport?

Air NZ job threat 'a bid to cut pay'
15 October 2006
By LEIGH VAN DER STOEP

Air New Zealand's warning that about 1750 jobs could go may be an attempt to cut staff wages and conditions rather than outsource work, say industry observers.


The airline has warned it may cut 1675 baggage handlers, check-in staff and tarmac operators and hand the work to external operators.



The firm felt the unions' suggestions would yield only $1.2m in savings. It told staff last week it preferred to switch to international firm Swissport which is offering savings of up to $20m a year.

A further 86 jobs could go if it sticks to plans to close its Christchurch call centre.

Service and Food Workers Union regional secretary Jill Ovens said Air NZ was using "scare-mongering" to force poorer working conditions and lower wages on its staff. She pointed to the airline's announcement last year that 617 engineering-related jobs would go under a scheme to service aircraft overseas. After union negotiations and penal rate cuts, 300 jobs were saved.

This year, the airline threatened to outsource aircraft cleaners with the possible loss of 120 jobs. Ovens said a union-led move also saved those positions.

AdvertisementAdvertisementSenior aviation consultant for Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Ian Thomas, said Qantas threatened to outsource its airport services in a similar move about 10 years ago.

"Some cynics said Qantas was using it for enterprise bargaining and they did not want any genuine outside service provider."

He said Qantas held an open tender and in-house service providers won all tenders.

"Airlines generally want frontline staff to fit the culture of the airline. That's not necessarily the case with third party providers."

Engineering, Printing and Manufacturers Union national secretary Andrew Little said Air NZ using scare-tactics sounded plausible, but he was concerned the airline was not "bluffing".

"I can't discount that possibility, although we're sure Air NZ has started the process of a request for proposals. We're also pretty sure they've got a preferred bidder at this stage. So if they've gone to that extent..."

The Sunday Star-Times has seen Air NZ's confidential outsourcing proposal in which it describes Swissport as a leading global provider of ground handling with a proven track record.

Swissport New Zealand is a joint venture between Swissport International, which operates more than 180 airports in 40 countries, and project management firm Transfield Services Ltd, which has 2000 employees here.

The report reveals axing 1675 jobs would cost Air NZ $47m in redundancy payments, accrued annual leave and transition charges. These would be partially offset by selling equipment to Swissport for $11.4m. Air NZ said it would encourage affected staff to seek jobs with Swissport.

Thomas said customers were unlikely to see big changes to service or security even if staff wearing Air NZ uniforms - such as check-in and Koru Club workers - may not be employed by Air NZ.

"Third party providers have been chosen for other international airlines. But normally among airlines there has been a reluctance to do this. This is really something you'd do only if you had no other choice. I think Air New Zealand's in that position."

The Star-Times revealed last week that Air NZ was considering charging passengers $5 to change their allocated seat online or using self-service check-in kiosks. It is also reviewing a service that sends a barcode to customers' mobile phones that can be used as a boarding pass.

Ovens said the union would meet with its members in the next two weeks.
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