This is a class at Pima Community College for airframe and power plant or engine mechanics. The opportunity to work with their hands and fringe benefits, such as free travel, appealed to Martha Thomason. She is changing careers after 21 years as an elementary schoolteacher to work at a local aircraft manufacturer installing interiors. I do admit that I'll take a pay cut when I first get started into industry. But I'm figuring within two years, I should make up that difference and move straight up from there.
Industry analysts say there are at least three ways to increase the number of mechanics.
One way to do so and avoid high salaries is to move maintenance operations overseas. Those operations are not inherently dangerous, but the potential lack of oversight worries some safety experts. But the Air Transport Association, which represents air carriers, says only a small portion of maintenance work on U.S. aircraft is done overseas. In fact, the association says it's more often the case that foreign airlines come to the U.S. for high-quality work. Evergreen's Gerald Koenig says that's inevitable, and airlines ought to accept it.