AMTonline Blogs

So, the industry is in an upswing. Passenger levels are up. Revenue is up. Many airlines are predicting a profit for this quarter.

So why is employment information so dismal? The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported last week that for the 16th consecutive month, employment at the airlines was down from the same time last year. For April, employment was down 4.8 percent compared to April 2005. You can go to www.bts.gov to read the full report.

16 months. That’s a long time for consecutive employment reductions. What’s even worse is that the numbers are now tracking against last year’s months that were down to begin with.

Come to think of it, at the rate the airlines are going, they will eventually stop the employee reduction only because there will be no more employees to get rid of.

You can almost hear the rumbling. It is the rumbling of a storm that has been building in the airline industry. But that rumbling being heard at airports across the country isn’t thunder — it’s the line of toolboxes rolling out the hangar.

How can this negative trend continue? The airlines have already slashed mechanics jobs to the bone. If they continue to reduce their workforces, their hangars will be empty in a few years.

And empty hangars can’t fix airplanes.

What are your thoughts?

Analogies tend to grow on you. Kind of like E. coli tends to grow on room-temperature beef. Here at AMT we have been busier than a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest lately. This week, I decided to have a little fun with my blog and share some of my favorite analogies.

Here are a few that come to mind:

“The sardines were packed as tight as the coach section of a 747.” How’s that for a backwards analogy? Sadly, I guess you could use that for just about any airline these days.

From Ralph Hood’s Airport Business blog “Ground Clutter” last week: “When people worry, the guvmint gets involved faster’n an episode of Desperate Housewives can get around to sex.

From a mechanic in Birmingham, AL (posted on AMTonline.com forum). “Pilots without maintainers are just pedestrians with cool jackets and sunglasses.”

I have noticed aircraft mechanics tend to use analogies frequently. Is it because we have fun in our jobs or is it a distraction to the stress of the job?

One of my former co-workers blurted this out after changing a fuel cell: “I smell worse than a mangy coon dog that got sprayed by a pole cat.”

Come to think of it, I had a boss once that was meaner than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Do you have any funny analogies or quotes that you like to use? Share them with us!

And please keep them clean or else they will be enjoyed by the profanity police and no one else.

Thanks for reading!

Joe Escobar

As I scanned through the newsfeeds this morning looking for news items to upload to our website, I couldn’t believe my eyes as I read one of the articles. In disbelief, I had to re-read the article in front of me on my computer monitor. Sure enough, my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. There in black and white was an AP news item titled Airbus Launches Investigation After Three Cables Cut On A380 Being Assembled. It talked about an incident last week where some cables were cut on an A380 on the assembly line. It appears that the “cables” referred to in the article were electrical wires.

It is still early in the investigation, but Airbus believes the wires were intentionally cut. If that is the case, I hope they find the sorry SOB that cut those wires. That incident isn’t just a case of mischievousness; it goes much further than that, and whoever is responsible for it should be appropriately punished.

We have a hard time trying to promote our professionalism to the general public. We try to educate them on the jobs we do and our responsibility for the safe operation of the aircraft they fly on. We try to show that we are professionals and should be compensated as such.

Then some bozo goes and does something stupid like this. Like the old saying goes, “One aw shit wipes away a whole bunch of atta boys.”

Thanks for reading!

Joe Escobar

“Whatever you do, don’t become stagnant!” Those were some of the first words of advice given to me when I joined the ranks of the gainfully employed. How true those words are. Striving to continuously improve ourselves is the difference between success and failure. It’s the difference between just showing up for a paycheck and truly excelling in our careers.

So what defines career success? In his Aviation Interpersonal Maintenance Management course, Global Jet Services president J.D. McHenry shares tips for career success. He says that there are two main types of career expansion. One is a vertical expansion. That is where we take on more and more responsibility and seek out jobs with more status and responsibility. For example, we might go from an entry-level mechanic to a crew lead. Then we might go on to become a director of maintenance, and finally end up as the vice president of production. With each step comes more management responsibility and decision-making, with more financial gain.

The other type of career expansion involves horizontal expansion. Although this doesn’t involve a vertical career move (moving up the ladder), it involves broadening our experiences. It could be taking on more challenging work, taking advantage of learning opportunities, or accepting more job responsibility.

Whether it is through vertical or horizontal expansion, we must do everything in our power to continue to grow professionally and avoid stagnation. Only then can we move toward career success.

Thanks for reading!

Joe Escobar

This past year has been a fun one to be involved with AMTonline.com. Thanks to you, our website has continued to expand the offerings to aircraft maintenance professionals. Starting with our website re-design in March of 2005, we have focused on continuing to grow this website. We have added numerous new features including a job listing through our partner CareerBuilder.com, a new expanded Forum section, online IA renewal seminars, daily news updates, and of course this blog where I have had plenty of fun (albeit extra work) posting regular columns.

One of the new features on our website is our photo slideshow on our homepage. I looked to a sister website firehouse.com for this idea. You see, firehouse.com readers send in photos to the website to have them posted for their peers to see. Whether a fire or an accident or relief efforts after a disaster, their readers share their photos with each other. It always has new photos being submitted by readers and posted to the slideshow.

And that is what we are looking for with the AMTonline.com slideshow. Send us your photos! There are numerous opportunities. How about you or your co-workers at work? That latest cool plane that landed at your airport? Community events? Basically, send us pictures whenever you get a chance. You can e-mail your digital photos to jescobar@amtonline.com. You can put “Photo Slideshow” in the subject line to expedite the process.

We have provided the canvas. Filling it with cool photos is up to you.

Thanks for reading!

Joe Escobar