Aer Lingus board to discuss transfer of maintenance operations from Shannon to Dublin

David086

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0430/aer-lingus-shannon-dublin-maintenance.html

The move could affect up to 70 employees in the maintenance division in Shannon.

Informed sources said that the maintenance facility that would remain at Shannon would be "tiny", but that the move would consolidate engineering operations in Dublin.

As yet it is unclear what would happen to Shannon staff and how many would be offered redeployment to Dublin.

The item on the agenda circulated to directors refers to the "transfer of maintenance activity to Dublin".

One key issue is what would happen to the Aer Lingus maintenance hangar at Shannon, which is leased from the Dublin Airport Authority.

One source speculated that Aer Lingus might hope to transfer its hangar in Shannon to incoming Russian aviation maintenance company Transaero.
However, it is understood that that would require the approval of the DAA.
A spokesperson for the DAA said it never comments on speculation about any of its customers.

Transaero is Russia's second biggest airline and has just taken over Aer Atlanta Aero Engineering's operation at Shannon, which employs over 240 people.

A spokesperson for Transaero said that while it has plans to expand, it is very early days and its immediate priority is to keep its existing operation full.

In addition, Transaero maintenance operations focus on Boeing planes, while Aer Lingus flies Airbus aircraft.

This story anyway true? Bad news for Shannon.

Locker10a

Sad news for Shannon and for the employees if true!!
I have a feeling this will upset politics in Clare and the Shannon area!
But wheather we like it or not Aer Lingus are no longer a state run subsidised company and they have to make decisions that are economicly viable! And if having all their maintenance based at their home base (DUB) is the most convienent and cost affective option then so be it!

squonk

Yup, they have to do what they have to do. Given the ecconomic climate it's nice to still have our national flag carrier in existence. The wider issue here however is the gombeen politicians who let Shannon get to the point it is at. Failure to do a lot to distribute industry and people outside of Dublin is the big issue really.

Storm 10

Aer Lingus want to pull out and meanwhile the Russian create 100 jobs at Shannon and want to route their aircraft through Shannon to the US for pre-custom clearance.

Link: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2012/0430/1224315361467.html

highlydebased

squonk wrote: »

Yup, they have to do what they have to do. Given the ecconomic climate it's nice to still have our national flag carrier in existence. The wider issue here however is the gombeen politicians who let Shannon get to the point it is at. Failure to do a lot to distribute industry and people outside of Dublin is the big issue really.

Just shows how politicians (nationally and locally...) should be kept far away from commercial aviation.

Chances are the usual hyperbole from the local TD's will make the place look like a right shower of fúckin eijits altogether!

It makes perfect sense financially to consolidate the maintenance operations in Dublin. It is costly to ferry A330's Dublin -Shannon just for an A check!

Turbine

Storm 10 wrote: »

Aer Lingus want to pull out and meanwhile the Russian create 100 jobs at Shannon and want to route their aircraft through Shannon to the US for pre-custom clearance.

Aer Lingus aren't pulling out of Shannon, if there wasn't money to be made, they wouldn't still be there. The Russians aren't investing in Shannon to provide jobs, they're doing it to either make money or save costs. If Aer Lingus is considering moving its maintenance from Shannon to Dublin, its doing so for the same reasons.

Bearcat

And the waffle out of Leo V that on the jobs front it will all pan out. There'll be pain for a lot of folk.

Stovepipe

Hi all,
Rumours: Transaero to take over the 330 hangar, after the issue of the 70 jobs is resolved by (a) the lads transfer to Dublin, which is likely to be a non-runner because of the economic climate, so they would have to be offered a decent redundo package (engineers have for years been excluded from redundo offers in EI) (b) they could transfer into Transaero because a lot of them have valuable Boeing experience (c) it also affects admin staff, who would also need to be dealt with, which means it's more than just 70 tech jobs. Apart from that, H6 is not yet ready to deal with A330 A checks so the A checks may be farmed out to Dublin Aerospace, who are salivating for the work but do not have a hangar sized for A330 so you may yet see Dub Aerospace using a bay of H6 to do EI work, yellow-packing which will not go down well with existing engineering staff. I suspect that EI, true to form, will use brute force and ignorance first and intelligence later.

regards
Stovepipe

orionm_73

Stovepipe, just a question about H6. If its not ready for A330 A checks, how will Dub. Aerospace be able to use part of it to do those A checks? Is it that EI don't have the staff to perform them in DUB as opposed to the hangar itself being a problem? Thanks.

Dacian

orionm_73 wrote: »

Stovepipe, just a question about H6. If its not ready for A330 A checks, how will Dub. Aerospace be able to use part of it to do those A checks? Is it that EI don't have the staff to perform them in DUB as opposed to the hangar itself being a problem? Thanks.

Thats my understanding of what he said. Perhaps the A330 A check staff/equipment is currently SNN based an may take time to establish in H6 at DUB?

Stovepipe wrote: »

.......I suspect that EI, true to form, will use brute force and ignorance first and intelligence later.....

But at least they are consistent in their terrible industrial/HR relationships.

Stovepipe

The hangar is not currently able to accept the permanent use of a bay for A330 work because of existing stored equipment blocking access.H6 is big but it's easy to fill it.One bay is a permanent wash-bay, another is said to be allocated permanently to Aer Arran, a stored aircraft is on another and the existing A checks on 320s fill another slot four nights a week.There is a constant juggling act moving things around to make room.It took EI years to get A330 work indoors in SNN and the staff would not be best pleased if they had to do it all again in Dublin.
regards
Stovepipe