Frontier Airlines 2007 Annual Report Download - page 14

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. During 2007, we entered into long-term maintenance agreements for engines, auxiliary
power units (“APU”) and other airframe components for our CRJ-200 aircraft, which will cover the aircraft during the short-term lease
period of two to three years. Also, during 2007, we entered into an agreement to maintain wheels and brakes on our ERJ-170/175
aircraft through February 2017. We have an agreement to maintain the engines on our ERJ-145 family of aircraft through October
2012, an agreement to maintain the APUs on our ERJ-145 family of aircraft through June 2013, agreements to maintain the avionics
on our ERJ-145 family of aircraft and ERJ-170 family of aircraft through December 2014, an agreement to maintain wheels and
brakes on our ERJ-145 family of aircraft through June 2014 and an agreement to maintain the engines on our ERJ-170 family of
aircraft through December 2014. 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 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 Flight Safety International to provide for aircraft simulator training for our pilots. We have no
current plans to acquire our own simulator in the near term and believe that Flight Safety 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, 2007, we employed approximately 4,670 full-time equivalent employees. The following is a table of our
principal collective bargaining agreements and their respective amendable dates as of December 31, 2007:
Employee Group
Approximate Number
of Full-Time
Equivalent Employees Representing Union Amendable Date
Pilots 2,070
International Brotherhood of Teamsters Airline Division
Local 747 October 2007
Flight Attendants 1,410
International Brotherhood of Teamsters Airline Division
Local 210 September 2009
Customer Service 40
International Brotherhood of Teamsters Airline Division
Local 135 November 2012
Dispatchers 70 Transport Workers Union of America Local 540 June 2012
As of December 31, 2007, we had approximately 820 maintenance technicians and other maintenance related personnel, who
are not currently represented by any union, and approximately 260 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
expenses associated with union representation of our employees. We have never experienced any work stoppages or other job actions
and generally consider our relationship with our employees to be good.
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Source: REPUBLIC AIRWAYS HOLDINGS INC, 10-K, February 21, 2008 Powered by Morningstar® Document Research℠