Outsourcing of mechanical work is expected to be a key issue in the talks.
Frontier spokesman Steve Snyder maintained, however, that the decision to send the plane to another company for work has to do with the heavy volume of work being done on company planes being sold as the carrier tries to reorganize and cut costs under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
"There are a number of issues going on with the aircraft we have agreed to sell. ... It's a space issue," he said. "This has nothing to do with the contract negotiations."
Frontier plans to reduce its fleet from 60 planes to 51 by the end of the year.
Matthew Fazakas, president of International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 961, which represents 425 Frontier mechanics, tool-room employees and cleaners, wouldn't comment on the negotiations but said he was aware of the plane being sent to the Salvadoran company, Aeroman.
Previous union negotiations have focused on limiting the outsourcing of heavy mechanical work. Frontier has about 150 mechanics in Denver.
The union has prevailed in the past but could face a tougher fight this time, given Frontier's bankruptcy status and volatility in the airline industry, said one industry analyst.
Outsourcing "is hardly atypical. It is an economic reality," said George Hamlin, managing director of ACA Associates, a consulting and financial advisory firm specializing in the aviation industry. "Few people like it (outsourcing maintenance). Labor will try to negotiate where they can but not always succeed."
This is not the first time Frontier has outsourced this kind of work, Snyder said.
"We have sent our aircraft to off- site locations in the past, including Costa Rica five or six years ago when we had our old Boeing aircraft exiting the fleet," he said. "We've also outsourced to a facility in Rome, N.Y., over the past few years when we have had space constraints."
Several airlines outsource maintenance work to companies in the U.S. and abroad. A United Airlines spokeswoman said the company does outsource work but did not offer specifics.
Aeroman is a subsidiary of Air Canada Technical Services and became a Federal Aviation Administration-recognized repair station in 1992. Other clients include JetBlue and US Airways, according to the company's website.
Hamlin said outsourcing doesn't compromise safety, which has continually improved over the years.
