Paulf,
At least under JAR 66 there will still be licenced staff on Line Maintenance. In Majors JAR 66 only requires one licence holder, a cat C to sign off the whole check. No-one else needs to be licenced at all! There are those who dream that Cat B1 and B2 people will still be in attendance. I say 'dream' because the reality is that if the regulations don't require them, companies won't pay for them. Will you spend money, time and effort on getting a licence that you don't need? That's right, "No money, no honey." The LAE is going to disappear from Base Maintenance. Air travel will not only become cheap, it will become just like the railways. Dirty, unreliable and inefficient.
Did Amtrack do anything to improve rail travel in the USA? Did privatisation do anything to improve the railways in UK? Will de-regulation do anything to improve air transport? Get the picture yet? What does the future hold?...
...The A380 taxis to the gate, only 14 hours late this time. 1,000 weary passengers fight to get out of the filthy stinking cabin (the toilets gave up 9 hours into the flight) to join the gang warfare around the baggage belts in the arrival hall. It will only take another three hours for them to clear immigration and collect the bags then the ordeal will be over. Ambulances wait on the tarmac for the 2 passengers who cannot walk after sitting in the 28 inch pitch economy seats for 14 hours. There is also a hearse for the elderly cabin attendant who passed away in one of the galleys during meal preparation. The pilot and his assistant hide in the crew toilet to avoid the angry customers. On the Tarmac is George Brownfag the engineer. He has four A380s to attend to right now so he is only there to "pen-off" any defects. There will be no trouble from the JAA; the company accountants have paid the necessary bribes, that's cheaper than doing any actual maintenance. The oncoming 'assistant to the pilot' is doing a walkround. "Hey, greaseball!" he yells at George "what's with this tyre then?" pointing to the canvas strips showing through the treads. "There's another three landings in that bugger!" replies George "so f*ck off back where you came from mate"....
Aaahhh aviation was so romantic once
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Through difficulties to the cinema