Third-World Mechanics Paid $2 Per Hour For Boeing, Airbus Jet Repairs

Maintenance Increasingly Outsourced To El Salvador, Hong Kong

Chris Halsne
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Investigative Reporter
Updated: 11:47 am PDT May 18, 2011

SEATTLE -- From engine overhauls, to drilling out rivets to fixing faulty flaps, Boeing and Airbus-made passenger jet repairs are increasingly being done in third-world countries. The outsourcing is definitely an economic threat to U.S. union workers, but KIRO Team 7 Investigators also found it's raising new concerns over safety.

Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne, recently visited El Salvador to find out more about a multimillion dollar jet repair shop called Aeroman.

El Salvador wants to rid itself of its guerilla war reputation and glean a new image: fruit-filled jungles, coffee plantations, Pacific beaches and the multimillion dollar business of repairing Boeing-made jetliners.

Our investigation found that Southwest Airlines, US Airways, Jet Blue and Frontier all pay Aeroman in El Salvador to fix up some of their aircraft. Delta takes part of its Boeing fleet for repairs to Guatemala, Guadalajara, and Mexico City, while taking others to repair centers in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taipei.

WATCH IT: Cheap Labor Too Tempting For Airlines To Resist http://www.kirotv.com/video/27940216/index.html

WATCH IT: Cheap Jet Repairs Raise Safety Concerns http://www.kirotv.com/video/27931125/index.html

Like Delta, Continental Airlines uses a maintenance facility in Hong Kong.

United Airlines flies about 40% of its fleet to Beijing, China for major repairs and mandated inspections.

All these places have one thing in common - cheap, cheap labor.

At the edge of an airport property just outside the city of San Salvador sits four buildings tucked away from public view. The massive bays are owned by a passenger jet repair company called Aeroman. Every time KIRO Team 7 Investigators tried to get a little closer look, someone with a gun or a badge or both told us “no permiso.â€