The vast majority of schools are in dire need of major maintenance work, if not complete rehabilitation.
The labor contract bars subcontracting of major maintenance, the union said.
The engine that caught fire underwent major maintenance work in 2009, he said.
It is also the only major airline to perform most of its major maintenance internally.
Federal regulators, citing Alaska Airlines' problems in keeping track of maintenance work, threatened to shut the carrier's major maintenance operations.
But they are sure about one thing: the right engine of the Airbus A300 was about due for major maintenance.
Major maintenance work involves complete rework of an airplane or engine that has had considerable service time.
The AC72s are high-maintenance yachts, requiring scores of people to launch and major maintenance to avoid breakdowns.
Laser systems used on military planes, he said, generally require maintenance after a few hundred hours of operation, but airliners fly longer between major maintenance visits.
The Federal Aviation Administration threatened today to shut down major maintenance overhauls at Alaska Airlines, which would ground the airline within months.
A1 F.A.A. Warns Airline The F.A.A. threatened to shut down major maintenance overhauls at Alaska Airlines, which would ground the airline within months.
