What is contract maintenance?
Barimo: In simple terms, contact maintenance is the process allowed by FAR 121.363 where airlines hire third-party experts to perform maintenance tasks. The type of maintenance involved ranges from minor servicing to major overhaul of components, engines and airframes. The entities performing the work are called repair stations and are subject to stringent federal regulations. Furthermore, all U.S. airlines are required to monitor maintenance work at the vendor work site. Also, all third-party mechanics are required to meet the same professional standards as those employed by the airlines. Finally, all maintenance work is subject to FAA audits and airline quality assurance programs, regardless of whether that work is performed by the carrier or a contract maintenance vendor.
Is maintenance a major contributor to airline accidents?
Barimo: Not at all. The number of maintenance-related accidents has decreased since 1980. In fact, only about 5 percent of all Part 121 accidents (based on NTSB definitions and statistics) over the last 10 years were attributable to maintenance.
How is contract maintenance performed?
Barimo: The majority of contracted maintenance is done in the United States by original equipment manufacturers, such as Pratt & Whitney, Honeywell and GE, as well as other FAA-certified facilities that have a core competency performing heavy maintenance checks or specialized repairs. Maintenance performed outside the United States is performed by premier MRO organizations, including Lufthansa Technik and TACA Aeroman.
Why do airlines use contract maintenance?
Barimo: Airlines operate in a highly-competitive, global environment. Their ability to obtain high-quality, affordable maintenance services whenever and wherever needed is essential to their competing effectively. Like a lot of other industries (e.g., truckers, railroads and ships), it simply more efficient for highly-specialized technical services to be provided by companies that can devote all their time and attention to this type of work. This tried-and-true practice has contributed to reducing accidents. Airlines contract their heavy maintenance to repair facilities in same way. Contracting also helps airlines manage maintenance demands through peak and non-peak periods and allows carriers to focus on routine maintenance and other core competencies, which are more central to their business.
Are all airlines moving to contract maintenance?
Barimo: U.S. airlines have safely contracted maintenance for more than 30 years and all airlines employ some form of contract maintenance. While some rely heavily on contract maintenance, others opt to perform much of their work internally. Although airlines are continually reassessing maintenance needs, we expect that the industry, on average, to stabilize in the 40 percent to 60 percent range for the amount of maintenance contracted.
How much airline maintenance goes to contractors?
Barimo: Although the amount varies by airline, Department of Transportation (DOT) Form 41 reports reflect that roughly 40 percent of the total amount spent on maintenance goes to contractors. It is important to note that on a per unit basis, engines and components have much higher repair costs than the airframe itself, and most of that work is done by contractors. In a 2005 survey of ATA member airlines, data revealed that of roughly 5,000 heavy airframe checks that year, 70 percent were performed internally by the airline and 30 percent went to contractors. Approximately, one-third of those contracted checks (450 total) were performed at foreign repair stations.
So are maintenance practices making airline travel less safe?
Barimo: Absolutely not. While some critics have charged that airline maintenance practices undermine safety, independent government figures simply don’t support that conclusion. As one example of the safety of their products, the U.S. military aviation activities subcontract to many of the same facilities as commercial transport operators. Regardless of how you slice the data, air travel is safer today than ever and we stand behind our stellar safety record.
Is contract maintenance costing U.S. jobs?
Barimo: No, to the contrary, it’s creating more jobs than it is costing in two ways: First, U.S. repair stations currently employ more than 212,000 people at 4,000 facilities across the country. These repair stations perform work not only for U.S. airlines, but for many foreign airlines as well. Secondly, when U.S. airlines leverage contract maintenance to reduce their costs, they can become better competitors and grow.
Does that mean airline critics are miscasting the debate over maintenance?
Barimo: Yes. Unfortunately, the debate over contract maintenance has ebbed and flowed for years and has more to do with politics than with safety. As with other industries that have had to evolve to compete globally, so must the airlines. Eliminating jobs, and in some cases moving them offshore (or abroad), attracts the attention of lawmakers and regulators. What is important, however, is that making smart business decisions, while meeting the airlines’ safety goals, makes the industry healthier and ultimately benefits the public.
NTSB defines an accident as "an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, and in which any person suffers death or serious injury, or in which the aircraft receives substantial damage".