Originally Posted by wjcandee

I have been reading a lot of very-public complaining about the management of the vaunted SHV maintenance facility, and wondering if that has anything to do with why there are 3 Neffmobiles (1 747, 2 MD11) that have been sitting there for months (well, one for a month, two for 3 months) when they should be out there earning money in probably the flushest time for the "36th St carriers" in decades.

KYE, the archetype of 36th St carriers, has been running its two 747s reliably and at a tempo that I wouldn't have bet that that company could sustain, whereas WGN has 8 in the air and 3 on the ground, with the 7 operating MD11s seeming to break pretty often -- and often for days -- during this high-tempo period. Wondering if this says something about the wisdom of hiring the managment they did for SHV.

I understand that heavy maintenance on the two frames that have been there since Peak was probably deferred until closer to when they would be needed for Peak, but WGN has had about two months' knowledge that these aircraft were likely to be in great demand, and yet nothing.

FWIW, Allegiant once had the same problem with its Florida facility -- good work by its next-to-headquarters facility in LV, big problems at its far-from-home facility, with corporate management committed to an individual that wasn't worthy of the position. Finally, under enormous media and regulatory pressure, upper management had a real look at what was going on, cleaned house, and solved the problem.