Third-World Mechanics Paid $2 P/hr Boeing,Airbus Jet repairs

[airmech07]

I found this alarming...

http://www.kirotv.com/news/27915082/detail.html

[2R]

The good news is that you can still buy fake Rolex's -with genuine seiko movements(they would not fake those seiko movements,would they?? eh)
There should be no shortage of Licensed engineers in some of those countries ,as you can buy a licence on the same street as the fake rolexes,Phd's,Bsc's,Mba's ,Hugo Boss suits.The Hong Kong tailors used to say "What you want on label ?"
Measure in the morning and four "Saville Row" suits delivered to your hotel before your next flight for about what you might pay in sears for a fake Ralph Loren.
You cannot blame the criminal behaviour of some entrepreneurs,all their lives those who suffered under the oppresive yoke of the communists where told:that the capitalists are criminal pigs.Now that they are now born again capitalists they are behaving like criminal pigs in their new born freedom
Quil suprise ?
Why do they not just pencil whip it,if those companies do not want to pay for the maintenance ?

[trey kule]

Well, it certainly is disturbing...The wage range of $2-$5 an hour is twice what it was just a few years ago, and if this distrubing wage trend continues we are soon going to have to pay more than we are now for a ticket..

[moocow]

Funny how they mentioned HK but left out any detail of Haeco, which been fixing CX aircraft for a long time. However, Haeco have been opening shop in China and I have no idea how the quality is up there. Then again it's owned by Swire, which owns CX, and if you read PPRUNE HKG section, you would hear plenty how Swire is cutting cost.

[Mr. North]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/flying-cheaper/

A great Frontline report regarding the dangers of outsourcing maintenance.

[iflyforpie]

A heavy C check gets into the millions of dollars in North American MROs, so it only makes sense to spend a few ten thousand to reposition an aircraft to save much more than that on a check.

It is just another example of how our greedy capitalist society is rapidly spinning its way into oblivion. Everybody wants to be at the top of the pyramid, so prices go up and level of service goes down. We owe our lifestyle to the rest of the world who is working for a fraction of our salary. Could you imagine what life would be like if we had to buy everything from Canada?

But if you think that it is just restricted to third-world MROs, think again. You might have to scale the pay for the cost of living, but some Canadian MROs are using third-world contractors working in Canadian facilities and by the time they pay back their plane tickets and housing it doesn't seem to work out too good for them.

There is a crisis looming where skilled labour is simply too expensive. Whether it is $2/hr mechs in El Salvador, or the five to ten apprenti to one licensed-endorsed AME in Canada, heavy aircraft maintenance is in a sad state.

[modi13]

In order to play devil's advocate, I have to point out that lower pay doesn't automatically equate to lower quality. If the mechanics are being paid 1/10 what their North American counterparts make but live in places where food, housing, etc costs 1/10 as much as in North America are they really being cheated or treated poorly? If a mechanic in Regina is paid less than one who lives in Toronto, does that mean the job isn't going to be done as well or does it just reflect differences in the cost of living? Outsourcing is only a risk to North American jobs because North America is so expensive compared to most of the rest of the world.

[AME 283]

These other countries do not have to compy with SMS requirements, OSH requirements, health and safety requirements, nor most of the regulations that are heaped upon the north american companies by our governments and over zealous regulators. Plus their tax rates are lower. Their workmanship can be better than in north america as they can afford to have the manpower required

Aviation is over regulated and the average person still wants to fly for nothing. I can fly to Vancouver cheaper than driving, in a multi million dollar aircraft vs my $20,000.00 car or a $100,000.00 bus.

The average aviation shop rate in Canada is less than $75.00 per hour, try and get your car fixed for less than $100.00 per hour and guess what they will not sign your log book, they do not have traceability on your parts, they are not mandated to be trained on your model of vehicle. AMEs are a dying trade and I blame a lot of it on over regulation

[Panama Jack]

Another nice, overly-sensationalist article. But it makes for a good story.

Yes, labor rates are less in China and El Salvador but so are labor rates in Georgia and British Columbia compared to Switzerland and Iceland.

As for the other arguements, the airline is responsible for auditing the quality of work provided by MRO's (airlines are even responsible for auditing companies like Jeppesen for the information they put into their airway manuals). Complaints on the shop floor also occur in countries like the United States and before a guy gets his A&P Certificate he will be working as an apprendice.

All of this is part of a wider trend towards Globalization.

[Fr8 dawg]

besides....isn't Canada outside the big citiies just another third world country anyways ?
oh yeah it is. Just ask any bush pilot or anyone who is not white or who needs real health care.

[winds_in_flight_wtf]

Time to be politically incorrect > If this is all accurate, people here should be thankful and delighted. Imagine if they were paid 70$ an hour? There goes your way of life as well as mine .