Airlines Outsourcing Maintenance, Call Centers and Your Safety

A few weeks ago I had another battle with a United States airline. I made two calls to check on an existing reservation and accomplished nothing in over ninety minutes except to discover I was speaking to people in the Philippines who knew less about airline travel and airline management than me.

Whether buying automobiles, checking on my health, or making travel plans, I find it useful to work with people who know more than me -not a very high standard.

Finally I cheated.  Years ago I was a frequent flyer so I had the special phone number they can use. In five minutes I spoke to someone in Chicago and resolved the matter.

That prompted me to see just what was the airline outsourcing situation. I read that the Teamsters Union notified passengers that United Airlines is outsourcing heavy maintenance on equipment that goes to China. In fact,In the Beijing repair station, only five of 2,179 mechanics are certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Forbes Magazine recently reported that AAR Corp is a great investment. They are providing maintenance and repair services to US airlines at a reduced cost.  The article makes no mention about the quality of the work. The article tells me that AAR stock is good for my portfolio but it does not mention if it is good for my health.

Probably the most distressing is U.S. News & World Report, which published on December 20, 2007 that, The Transportation Department IGs (Inspector Generals), for example, have revealed potential safety risks posed by the airlines' outsourcing of maintenance work.

The story does not provide any more detailed information on the nature of those safety risks.

The Wall Street Journal was not shy to report that the failure of Boeing to complete its delivery schedule of the new Dreamliner,the Boeing 787, is a failure on the part of suppliers. The headline: Layers of Outsourcing Slow 787 Production;'Hostage to Suppliers'

Boeing figured it could save $10 Billion by outsourcing the supplies.

Today, the Dreamliner is at least six months late, and the goal of delivering 109 planes by the end of 2009 is threatened...Boeing said in September that it had set aside nearly $2 billion in additional research-and-development money for increasing costs associated with the delays.

That does not include future problems, delivery penalties, and the waste in fuel as the more efficient 787 goes into service two to three years late.

Disclosure: I am compensated by more than one labor union opposed to outsourcing. And I have a bazillion friends who don't pay me a damn thing that are just as vehemently opposed to outsourcing.

Comments

[GGardner]

FWIW, frequent fliers often jockey to connect to the Philippine based call centers, as they are much better than the Indian ones.

[Dan Sebald]

Nothing is surpising anymore. Wouldn't surprise me if one couldn't find a USA flag made in the actual United States anymore. All part of the cockamamie "contract with America". E.g., wanting to redefine what "made in u.s.a." means, etc. The last fifteen congresses sure have done a number on this country.

Chevrolet: "This is our country."

1 EUR = 1.45098 USD

What if China starts pegging their currency against the Euro instead of the dollar? As Pat Buchanan* pointed out, at some point the drop in the value of the dollar means that imported services and goods become very expensive.

Do any of the media-tagged "frontrunners" have a plan to turn around this economic mess and make America self-sufficient? Recognizing a problem is simple. Doing something about it is the difficult part. "Give me the line item veto." "We need all branches of government under our party." Yeah, sure.

*Any occassional agreement with Buchanan does not imply endorsement of all his views.

[dedicated staff]

The outsourcing world is just as enormous and gigantic as the galaxy. That it makes sense to better know first who you are actually outsourcing to. Prior knowledge. That will save you the trouble of mismatching or not getting the right help.
Virtual professionals each have their own field off expertise. They are trained and well-equipped to do certain things and figure out certain problems; but they are also but humans who are definitely not perfect. As such, one cannot expect them to solve and do practically everything for you. The bottom line is: get the right professional, get the right help.

[Dan Sebald]

China stopped pegging their currency against the dollar in mid 2005:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/29/business/worldbusiness/29yuan.html

Guess I wasn't paying attention.

Anyway, Dedicated Staff says

"That it makes sense to better know first who you are actually outsourcing to. Prior knowledge."

which makes it sound like conducting business as companies normally do. But that sort of obviates the definition of "outsourcing" where concerns are raised. The issue is major cost cuts by the following practices:

1) American companies skirting tax laws, environmental costs, health care costs, etc. by moving business out of the country.

2) The manufacturers producing unregulated goods (toys with lead, cadmium, etc.) and wreaking environmental destruction on the planet (read the half dozen or so articles in the NYTimes over the past year about China's environment, polluted rivers, smog filled air, collapsing village because of coal removed from beneath). Then there are also poor working conditions for laborers.

Sure, there are manufacturers in various "third world" (for lack of better phrase) countries that do quality work in a fair trade manner. That more fits the consciencous buyer/trader practice Dedicated Staff is arguing. But then the cost goes up. Just search the internet for such products.

But, aside from all that, there is the idea of keeping jobs here and being a self sufficient country. Try finding clothing made in the U.S. today aside from T-shirts; can't do it. It seems so much technology is becoming a lost art in this country. Why do American companies and politicians continue this practice? (Corporate greed is the answer of course.)

It's a matter of finding the right balance. If foreign countries make a product, put their name on it and make it available in the U.S. market, that's competition. But companies that are "american" in name only is a different matter.

[Darrell Walker]

I wrote a song expressing what I think outsourcing means for the average American working men and women. It's simple, to the point, and touches on the point that our business leaders and our government has a responsibility to help change our course. It's posted on a Nashville radio website. If you click the link below, then scroll down and click on the American flag, you'll be able to give it a listen, if you wish.

link http://wsix.com/new2/aggregate/station_submitted/songs.html?format=177

[IT Staff]

@GGardner -Yup. Filipinos are better than Indian. :)