Qantas has provisionally shelved plans to contract out its entire Boeing 767 heavy maintenance work to rivals Ansett/Air New Zealand Engineering Services (AANZES). Instead it has named Brisbane as the preferred location for a new A$65.8 million (A$36.5 million) heavy maintenance facility for its 36 Boeing 767-200 and -300s.
The decision to move 767 work out of the Qantas' Sydney Kingsford Smith airport facility is due to projected growth at domestic passenger terminal and the need to prepare new maintenance hangars to cope with fleet expansion: additional Boeing 747s, the Airbus A330 and eventually the A380.
The airline originally favoured the New Zealand option because of lower labour costs and the availability of hangar space. The Brisbane development, which will add a hangar and workshop to an existing Qantas facility, is to begin operating next year subject to union agreement over efficient work practices. Most unions have agreed a deal but one has refused to negotiate on key cost issues.
Source: Flight International
