Is Qantas Risking Passenger Lives by Having Boeing Jet Maintenance in Hong Kong Instead of Its Own Brisbane Maintenance Facility?
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The Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) decried on Tuesday the decision of national carrier Qantas to have two of it Boeing 747s flown to Hong Kong for heavy maintenance in the later part of 2014.
That would mean not only sending 300 jobs offshore which is a blow for the air carrier's heavy maintenance plant in Brisbane, but risking the lives of Qantas passengers. The Brisbane plant maintains more than 110 Qantas jets, including Boeing 737s, 767s and Airbus A330s.
Steve Purvinas, ALAEA federal secretary, pointed out that the last time that the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (HAECO), performed heavy maintenance on a Qantas 747 jet, the plane was released to service "with all four engines incorrectly bolted to the airframe."
Lamenting the offshore decision, Mr Purvinas said, quoted by The Australian, "Qantas were aware from the outset that the Brisbane facility was overflowing with excess work and couldn't cope with any 747 maintenance."
"We feel cheated by the Qantas negotiators who made out that the decision to close Avalon was a win for Brisbane," he said.
Qantas, in a letter to the union, explained the decision to offshore maintenance work to help improve productivity and efficiency that would contribute to the Australian flag carrier's overall profitability.
Qantas will send the two Boeing 747 jets in May to the HAECO facility in Hong Kong for the maintenance work. But the airline would make a decision later on one final destination for future heavy maintenance jobs of its jumbo aircraft fleet. The company is eyeing Asian cities where cost is lower such as Manila, Hong Kong and Singapore, analysts said.
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Alan Milne, head of Qantas International engineering, set aside the warning of Mr Purvinas that having the jets maintained in Hong Kong would compromise passenger and crew safety.
Mr Milne said the maintenance work will be done by the same service providers on other global air carriers such as Cathay Pacific, United and Delta. He added the claims of alleged incorrect bolting were probed by both Qantas and CASA and "found there was no safety issues with the installation of washers on the aircraft."
The move is likely part of Qantas's $2-billion cost-cutting initiatives following a looming pre-tax loss of up to $300 million for the half-year.
