WASHINGTON, -- The Teamsters Union and the Business Travel Coalition will hold a summit on aircraft maintenance outsourcing on Feb. 11, 2008, in Washington, D.C.

The purpose of the summit is to discuss the safety and efficiency of current U.S. airline industry outsourcing practices and to explore potential solutions.

Safety advocates, government officials and aviation industry representatives will also discuss the likely impact of industry consolidation on maintenance outsourcing.

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said foreign repair stations are a threat to passenger safety and security.

"Aircraft mechanics should all be held to a single standard whether they repair airplanes in Beijing or San Francisco," Hoffa said. "Unfortunately, the Federal Aviation Administration doesn't have the staff or funding to enforce the current double standard."

"This is a duty-of-care issue for the global business travel community," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition.

"U.S. airline industry consolidation initiatives raise the specter of a collapse of six major network airlines to just three," Mitchell said. "The attendant confusion and management distraction resulting from years of likely integration issues clearly calls for urgent government, industry and customer attention to this outsourcing issue."

Presenters and contributors will include the following:

-- John Conley, airline division director, Transportation Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO

-- Greg Feith, former senior air safety investigator, National Transportation Safety Board

-- John Goglia, former board member, National Transportation Safety Board

-- Linda Goodrich, vice president, Professional Airways Safety Specialists (PASS)

-- Deborah A. P. Hersman, board member, National Transportation Safety Board

-- James P. Hoffa, general president, International Brotherhood of Teamsters

-- William McGee, author, Consumer Reports: An Accident Waiting To Happen -- Kevin Mitchell, chairman, Business Travel Coalition

-- Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman, U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

-- Steve Purvinas, federal secretary, Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA)

-- Stacie H. Soumbeniotis, Democratic staff director, U.S. House Subcommittee on Aviation

-- More to be named later

The summit will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 11 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St NW, Washington, DC.

There is no registration fee, but seating is limited so consider registering soon. To register, go to the following url: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=7c3VW2TwDNgqZQexH_2fgh9g_3d_3d

About BTC

Founded in 1994, the mission of Business Travel Coalition is to bring transparency to industry and government policies and practices so that customers can influence issues of strategic importance to their organizations.

BTC Media Contact Kevin Mitchell (610) 341-1850 mitchell@businesstravelcoalition.com About the Teamsters

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 9,000 aircraft technicians of the 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. The Teamsters represent 40,000 airline employees, including more than 9,000 mechanics and related at 11 airlines such as Continental and UPS.

Source:  teamster.org