You know what they say about making assumptions...
Beeroclock, I am on the same page and echo your sentiments entirely. As a QF Lame I would be the last one to throw stones regarding the direction Australian maintenance is trending.
I am a firm believer that quality heavy maintenance is the key to dispatch reliability, and the most efficient way to carry out line maintenance, ensuring defects are diagnosed and rectified with minimal schedule interruption is to meet the aircraft with Lame's of both trades.
Whilst I understand an airline is a business, it also provides a public service and unfortunately, as long as the regulator allows aircraft operators to risk manage dispatch reliability and safety vs wage restraint, we will continue to see avoidable incidents.
You also questioned how I arrived at the experience level of the engineers that generally work in a line maintenance environment... In my experience, especially at QF in recent times,very few, if any, engineers are licenced within 6 years of completing their apprenticeship.
Beeroclock, I hope this eases your mind that not all blackhanders are out to try and steal your livelihood.
You couldn't be further from the truth...
Last edited by Black Hands; 22nd Oct 2009 at 14:06.