American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) announced on February 28 that it will invest USD550 million at its base maintenance facility at Tulsa International. This is the most significant investment ever made at a maintenance location in the carrier’s history and will take seven years to complete.
Already the world’s largest commercial aircraft maintenance facility, the new project includes the construction of a new widebody-capable hangar and base support building. The new 18,000sqm hangar will be able to hold two widebody aircraft — or up to six narrowbody aircraft — and will replace two existing hangars that can no longer adequately accommodate the size of American’s current aircraft. Construction of the hangar and base support building is expected to begin in early 2021 and will take approximately 18 months to complete.
The investment also provides for improvements to the existing infrastructure, including roof replacements, utility and IT upgrades, and ramp repairs.
“The American team in Tulsa and around the world is the best in the business when it comes to operating the safest and most reliable fleet of commercial aircraft,” said American’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker. “Tulsa has been core to American’s operation for more than 70 years, and this investment in the base, along with the new positions we added at Tech Ops – Tulsa in 2019, will ensure our customers can continue to rely on our fleet as the safest and most reliable for decades to come.”
It is American’s largest base maintenance facility, with 30,658 sqm of hangar and shop space sitting on 54 hectares at Tulsa International Airport and it welcomes 900 aircraft annually from the airline’s fleet of nearly 1,000 mainline aircraft. American moved its Tech Ops headquarters from New York La Guardia to Tulsa in 1946.
The site employs more than 5,500 staff working on aircraft overhaul, component repair, engine overhaul, engineering, supplies, facilities maintenance and IT support. American recently insourced more work to Tech Ops – Tulsa, including CFM56-5B engine overhaul, and brake and wheel component repair.
