American unveils huge Tulsa investment plans

American Airlines will invest $550 million at its base maintenance facility in Tulsa.

The facility It is American’s largest base and is an integral part of operating the carrier’s fleet of nearly 1,000 mainline aircraft safely.

Tech Ops – Tulsa is home to more than 5,500 team members — 600 of those positions were added in 2019 — and conducts nearly half of the airline’s overall maintenance work.

The new project includes construction of a new widebody-capable hangar and base support building.

The investment also provides for improvements to the existing infrastructure, including roof replacements, utility and IT upgrades, and ramp repairs.

This is the largest investment ever made at a maintenance location in American’s history.

“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 chief executive 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.”

The new 193,000-square-foot hangar will be able to hold two widebody aircraft — or up to six narrow body aircraft — and will replace two existing hangars that can no longer fully accommodate the size of American’s current aircraft.

This will allow team members to continue maintenance work on the more than 900 aircraft that visit the site annually while also adding to the widebody hangar capacity in American’s system.

The 132,000-square-foot base support building will include offices for teams in administrative functions for aircraft overhaul, engineering and more.

The $550 million investment will take approximately seven years to complete and will involve upgrades to nearly every building.

The new hangar and base support building construction is expected to begin in early 2021 and will take approximately 18 months to complete.