Frontier Airlines 2006 Annual Report Download - page 15

Maintenance of Aircraft and Training
Using a combination of Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA) certified maintenance vendors and our own personnel and
facilities, we maintain our aircraft on a scheduled and "as-needed" basis. We emphasize preventive maintenance and inspect our
aircraft engines and airframes as required. We have an agreement with Rolls-Royce to maintain the engines on our ERJ-145 family of
regional jets through October 2012, an agreement with Hamilton Sunstrand to maintain the auxiliary power units, or APUs, on our
ERJ-145 family of regional jets through April 2009, agreements with Honeywell to maintain the avionics on our ERJ-145 family of
regional jets and ERJ-170 regional jets through December 2014, an agreement with Goodrich to maintain wheels and brakes on our
ERJ-145 family of regional jets through June 2014, an agreement with GE Engine Services to maintain the engines on our ERJ-170
regional jets through December 2014 and an agreement with AAR Services to provide, manage and repair the airframe components
and spare parts on our CRJ-200 regional jet aircraft, and to provide access to a pool of spare parts through December 2009. Under
these agreements, we are charged for covered services based on a fixed rate for each flight hour or flight cycle accumulated by the
engines or airframes in our service during each month. The rates are subject to annual revisions, generally based on certain Bureau of
Labor Statistics' labor and material indices.
We believe these agreements, coupled with our ongoing maintenance program, reduce the likelihood of unexpected levels of
engine, APU, avionics and wheels and brakes maintenance expense during their term.
We have also developed an inventory of aircraft spare parts and have utilized a computerized tracking system to increase
maintenance efficiency and to avoid excess inventories of spare parts.
We perform our heavy and routine maintenance projects at our facilities in Indianapolis, Columbus, Louisville, Pittsburgh
and St. Louis, and we perform routine maintenance services from select line maintenance stations.
All mechanics and avionics specialists employed by us have appropriate training and experience and hold required licenses
issued by the FAA. We provide periodic in-house and outside training for our maintenance and flight personnel and also take
advantage of manufacturers’ training programs that are offered when acquiring new aircraft.
We have an agreement with FlightSafety International to provide for aircraft simulator training for all of our pilots. We have
no current plans to acquire our own simulator in the near term and believe that FlightSafety or other third party vendors will be able to
provide us with adequate and cost effective flight simulator training to implement our growth plans.
Employees
As of December 31, 2006, we employed approximately 3,700 full-time equivalent employees. The following is a table of our
principal collective bargaining agreements and their respective amendable dates as of December 31, 2006:
Employee Group
Approximate Number
of Full-Time
Equivalent Employees Representing Union Amendable Date
Pilots 1,600
International Brotherhood of Teamsters Airline
Division Local 747 October 2007
Flight Attendants 1,100
International Brotherhood of Teamsters Airline
Division Local 210 September 2009
Customer Service 40
International Brotherhood of Teamsters Airline
Division Local 135 December 2005
Dispatchers 50 Transport Workers Union of America Local 540 February 2007
As of December 31, 2006, we had approximately 650 maintenance technicians and other maintenance related personnel, who
are not currently represented by any union, and approximately 230 administration and support personnel. Because of the high level of
unionization among our employees we are subject to risks of work interruption or stoppage and/or the incurrence of additional
Source: REPUBLIC AIRWAYS HOLDINGS INC, 10-K, March 15, 2007 Powered by Morningstar® Document Research℠