Aircraft going overseas has nothing to do with the overseas MRO turning a blind eye. Its just a cheap shot to support what has become an inefficient sector. There is no doubt that there is good engineering here. Just as there is good engineering there.
Its got to do with whether you can get the work done within any reasonable timeframe and certainty in Australia. Work practices and/or staffing levels do not allow this. The opportunity cost of not having an aircraft in operation because it has become a hangar queen in Australia added to the far higher cost of labour just doesn't add up. JHAS just doesn't have the manpower to do the thousands of manhours required in any reasonable timeframe to get the aircraft back in the air. It is also a case that if parts are required you can almost certainly get them straight away in places like Singapore rather than being at the end of the line in Australia. Not a killer issue but the ability to get the manhours into the airframe is.
Virgin take their aircraft to NZ. Tiger, Jetstar, Skywest and Skytraders all take theirs to Asia now as well as do minor checks and maintenance here themselves. All previous customers of JHAS. It is still more cost effective despite the costs involved in moving the aircraft to those MRO's.
Last edited by d_concord; 2nd Aug 2013 at 09:43.