What does this SWA story mean?

[radarlove]

Southwest rethinks plane retirement plan: report




NEW YORK (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines is reconsidering some of its operating plans in the wake of maintenance lapses, including the pace of retiring older plans and outsourcing maintenance overseas, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Southwest is pursuing major structural upgrades to dozens of its oldest Boeing 737 jets in an effort partly aimed at reducing long-term maintenance expenses, according to the Journal.
U.S. aviation regulators proposed a $10.2 million fine on March 6 alleging the carrier failed in 2006 and 2007 to inspect 46 Boeing Co 737s for cracks.
In a follow-up review of its maintenance records last week, Southwest grounded 38 737s in order to reinspect them for fuselage cracks around windows, cancelling 4 percent of its flights for one day.
Small cracks were found on four planes, and all but two had returned to service by Friday according to Southwest. The remaining two were expected to fly again over last weekend.
A Southwest spokesperson was not immediately available.

 

[General Lee]

Southwest rethinks plane retirement plan: report




NEW YORK (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines is reconsidering some of its operating plans in the wake of maintenance lapses, including the pace of retiring older plans and outsourcing maintenance overseas, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Southwest is pursuing major structural upgrades to dozens of its oldest Boeing 737 jets in an effort partly aimed at reducing long-term maintenance expenses, according to the Journal.
U.S. aviation regulators proposed a $10.2 million fine on March 6 alleging the carrier failed in 2006 and 2007 to inspect 46 Boeing Co 737s for cracks.
In a follow-up review of its maintenance records last week, Southwest grounded 38 737s in order to reinspect them for fuselage cracks around windows, cancelling 4 percent of its flights for one day.
Small cracks were found on four planes, and all but two had returned to service by Friday according to Southwest. The remaining two were expected to fly again over last weekend.
A Southwest spokesperson was not immediately available.

Are they accelerating the retirement of those 733s? Is that what it means? I can't figure it out either.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[radarlove]

Here we go. Reuters was writing a story on a story. Here's the real story.

Southwest Rethinks
Plane Retirement,
Shelves Outsource Plan

[FONT=times new roman,times,serif][FONT=times new roman,times,serif]By ANDY PASZTOR and MELANIE TROTTMAN
March 17, 2008; Page A2[/FONT]
[/FONT]
Southwest Airlines is reconsidering some of its operating plans in the wake of maintenance lapses, from the pace of retiring old jetliners to outsourcing maintenance overseas.
Speeding up jetliner retirement could reduce costs under some circumstances, Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly suggested last week, as the airline beefs up its effort to upgrade jets. The Dallas-based carrier is pursuing major structural upgrades to dozens of its oldest Boeing 737 jets in an effort partly aimed at reducing long-term maintenance expenses.
But in response to the recent furor over missed structural checks last year on some four dozen older aircraft, Southwest has pledged to enhance its internal controls and likely will beef up its compliance staff. Together, those initiatives could end up increasing costs at an airline reliant on keeping them low to generate profit.

Retiring jets faster could lessen the burden of refurbishing old aircraft. The airline currently plans to retire 22 older jets this year as it takes deliveries of the latest 737 models rolling out of Boeing Co.'s factory.
"That is a fleet-management issue that we will continue to evaluate," Mr. Kelly said, noting that the cost of recurring structural repairs and inspections "is a factor." The final number of airplanes slated for retirement, according to Mr. Kelly, "will depend on the success of that [refurbishment] program."
As of the end of last year, Southwest had 520 aircraft, with an average age of 9.4 years.
Meanwhile, over the weekend Southwest said it has shelved plans to shift some heavy-maintenance work to El Salvador, a proposal that sparked controversy from the carrier's mechanics union. A Southwest spokeswoman said the airline postponed the move to avoid complicating its own internal review of the company's maintenance procedures and processes. The airline's maintenance procedures are also under government investigation. The move was reported Friday by Bloomberg.
Southwest currently outsources at least 60% of its maintenance work, though none of it overseas. Last year, as the airline came under increasing cost-pressures, it sought the union's consent to shift four lines of maintenance work to a facility in El Salvador, as part of continuing negotiations to extend its labor contract with the union, which becomes amendable this August. The work is currently being outsourced domestically.
The union, represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, was leery of the proposed shift because it worried the airline would try to send even more maintenance overseas. After "considerable" back and forth negotiating as described by the union, the company committed to limiting the work unless it got the union's consent first to do otherwise. But now, the company has shelved the issue.
Other airlines outsource some maintenance to places like El Salvador. Unions typically oppose the practice, though federal officials have never blamed a major U.S. crash on overseas maintenance mistakes. Some airline consumer groups, corporate-travel associations and environmental organizations also are stepping up campaigns against outsourcing of maintenance.
As House and Senate committees prepare for hearings early next month on Southwest's maintenance lapses, broader maintenance outsourcing issues are likely to come up at both sessions. The Department of Transportation's inspector general previously has been critical of Federal Aviation Administration oversight efforts in this area, and various government investigators are looking at whether outsourced maintenance has led to maintenance lapses at Southwest or a number of other big carriers.

 

[jke406]

the SWA story means two things:

1.) Jack

2.) Sh!t


oh, and

3.) no-integrity, cheating law-breakers.

sorry, i guess that's three things.

 

[Yuppyguppy]

yep ur right

 

[ASADFW7]

the SWA story means two things:

1.) Jack

2.) Sh!t

oh, and

3.) no-integrity, cheating law-breakers.

sorry, i guess that's three things.

I do not say this often, but you sir write the most unusual posts. It is like you are trying to prove a point, perhaps you drive a huge truck and are trying to compensate for something? I do not know, maybe your brohter was popular and you liked D & D.
Whatever knock yourself out.