Springs hangar might be grounded

Plans for Frontier Airlines' much-heralded $55 million maintenance hangar at the Colorado Springs Airport could be scuttled by the airline's latest move in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, a union leader said Wednesday.

The hangar wouldn't be needed if the court approves Frontier's plan to contract that work out to a company in El Salvador and lay off its unionized maintenance staff, said Matt Fazakas, president of Teamsters Local 961 in Denver, which represents Frontier's maintenance workers.

The Denver-based carrier asked the court Sept. 12 to void its contract with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to allow Frontier to outsource its "heavy" maintenance work to El Salvador-based Aeroman and lay off its 130 mechanics and other maintenance employees as part of a plan to cut its maintenance costs by $5.6 million. A three-day hearing on Frontier's request is scheduled to begin Oct. 3 in New York.

The outsourcing plan would eliminate the need for a $55 million hangar Frontier planned to build at the Colorado Springs Airport to house its heavy maintenance operations, Fazakas said. Frontier announced plans 11 months ago to build the 225-employee hangar in the Springs, but put those plans on hold in April when it filed for bankruptcy court protection from its creditors amid a dispute with its credit card processor.

Frontier spokesman Steve Snyder said Wednesday that the carrier won't make a decision about the Colorado Springs hangar until after the court has ruled on its motion but added that the hangar will be affected by that decision. He said the company continues to negotiate with the union about the plan, which also includes permanent wage cuts and ending the pension plan for the local's 425 members at Frontier.

Mayor Lionel Rivera said he would "much rather have the airline survive than be overly concerned about a maintenance facility in Colorado Springs. They have to do what is best for the company and the employees."

The carrier argued in its request to end the contract that it no longer needed its own maintenance staff because it has cut its fleet to 51 from 62 aircraft, leaving heavy maintenance workers idle, "sometimes for long stretches at a time." The company said that most of its competitors in Denver outsource maintenance services and that it must lower its costs by Nov. 15 to fulfill a condition set by lenders funding its bankruptcy.

The union is fighting Frontier's request, arguing that the airline has failed to show the proposed outsourcing would generate any cost savings since Frontier mechanics are already among the industry's lowest-paid. The Teamsters also argued that Frontier had the nation's fewest flight cancellations, while JetBlue Airways, which outsources its maintenance to Aeroman, had the third-highest percentage of cancellations.

"They want to send 129 good-paying American jobs to El Salvador. This is a vicious attack on the employees while the they still insist on protecting the top 65 executives with severance packages," Fazakas said. "The public should be outraged by this. One of the reasons that Frontier has been successful is our members. Frontier has received the FAA Diamond award for nine consecutive years" for its maintenance record.

If Frontier fails to build the hangar, it would give up tax rebates and exemptions estimated by city officials at $300,000 a year that were offered as part of a package of incentives to get the carrier to select the Springs for the operation.

The carrier's Lynx Aviation commuter subsidiary began operating five daily round-trip flights between the Springs and Denver in April as a part of its plan to operate the hangar here.

Aeroman is 80 percent owned by a Canadian aircraft maintenance firm that is financed by three U.S. private equity investment banks and also provides services to U.S. Airways and Spain-based Iberia Airlines.