American Airlines has begun shifting work amongst its major maintenance facilities to compensate for forthcoming job cuts.
The carrier recently revealed plans to slash 1,500 positions across its maintenance and engineering department system-wide, following an announcement earlier in month that it will cull its entire Airbus A300 fleet next year in addition to previously-disclosed fleet reductions.
In a 25 July letter to employees, American VP base maintenance Fred Cleveland says that while the carrier is still working through the details of its complex reallocation plan, it is making adjustments to best address the operational needs of the airline and maximize utilization of employees “while minimizing the disruption to base maintenance’s ability to produce the necessary aircraft for the immediate future”.
To that end, American will upgrade its Boeing 767 repair line at its Alliance facility in Forth Worth, Texas to a full 767 check line. Full checks will start in September without additional headcount.
With the elimination of the A300 main base visit, the Oneworld alliance member intends to start a dependability check for the A300 until its operations end this time next year, as well as a Boeing 777 check line at Tulsa, Oklahoma, without additional headcount.
In the short-run, American will also accomplish 777 checks at Fort Worth.
The Allegiant Air Boeing MD-80 check line will be integrated into existing MD-80 pulse lines to fill the gap from MD-80 capacity reductions. Thirty 30 MD-80s are being retired from American’s fleet.
“We will begin general familiarization crew training on the 777 in Tulsa, beginning the first week of August,” says Cleveland. “We intend to start the Tulsa 777 check line this fall. The 777 will be a good fit, as the base has the capacity for widebody aircraft and a workforce that has widebody experience. This plan will solidify as we determine equipment requirements.”
Earlier this month American revealed that a total 200 management/staff and 1,300 Transport Workers Union-represented mechanics jobs will be cut.
The company has roughly 1,700 TWU-represented employees at Alliance, about 5,800 TWU-represented employees in Tulsa and roughly 700 TWU-represented employees in Kansas City.
Until all work adjustments have been made, and voluntary leave packages are assessed, American will not know what work or final headcount will be at each base, says a spokesman for the carrier. This process could take “another month or so”, he adds.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
