Southwest won’t outsource maintenance

Southwest Airlines Co., under fire for missing required aircraft inspections, dropped a plan to move some maintenance operations to El Salvador from the U.S.

The carrier ended talks about the idea with its mechanics union this week after the Federal Aviation Administration levied a $10.2-million fine for possible maintenance violations, a union official and a Southwest spokesman said Friday.

The move highlighted Southwest’s efforts to restore its reputation after the March 6 fine, criticism from some U.S. lawmakers and this week’s grounding of 44 jets to verify that they underwent the proper inspections.

Dallas-based Southwest hadn’t announced the union negotiations over maintenance outsourcing.

“Southwest knows that this issue is gaining visibility and gaining momentum,” Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Radnor, Pa.-based Business Travel Coalition, said of the FAA probe. “They probably wanted to avoid this further scrutiny.”

Southwest, the largest low-fare carrier, will face questions about its maintenance practices at congressional hearings next month, Mitchell said. His group, which represents corporate travel managers, and the Teamsters union co-sponsored a Feb. 11 Washington meeting on outsourcing.

Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz confirmed that the maintenance outsourcing plan had been shelved. The airline has said passengers’ safety never was endangered in the inspections case.