During a speech at the ISTAT Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. last week, former American Airlines president Robert Crandall called for U.S. lawmakers to address the rising amount of maintenance being outsourced to overseas repair stations. For instance, if airlines send their jets to China for maintenance to lower airfares, costing the U.S. 100,000 blue-collar jobs, “is that an appropriate tradeoff?” he asked. Crandall told Air Transport Intelligence News that an associated problem is the FAA’s existing oversight of foreign maintenance shops. Crandall also called for a moratorium on outsourcing. “This situation represents a clear risk to both passenger safety and national security. Until the FAA can negotiate and enforce a single high regulatory standard that governs all repair facilities working on U.S. aircraft worldwide, Congress should impose a moratorium on further foreign outsourcing.”
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