Tag Archives: TUL

American Airlines Tulsa base maintenance facility celebrates 80 years of excellence

American Airlines announced:

For eight decades, the American Airlines base maintenance facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Tech Ops – Tulsa), has stood at the center of the airline’s technical operations, evolving into the world’s largest commercial aircraft maintenance base and a cornerstone of the airline’s commitment to safety and reliability.

Aerial photo of the surplus military aircraft plant in early 1946.

Tech Ops – Tulsa team members working in the propeller shop in 1947.

It all started in 1945 when the U.S. government listed a military aircraft plant as surplus property. The property, with four large hangars anchoring more than 260 acres, caught the eye of American’s leaders who soon negotiated a lease with the City of Tulsa and began relocating its maintenance and engineering operations from New York’s La Guardia airport to the new Tulsa facility. The move reflected American’s growth and Tulsa’s emergence as a major aviation and aerospace hub, bolstered by a skilled local workforce, which still holds true today.

The maintenance base opened in June 1946, and started overhauling Douglas DC-3 aircraft. American’s then CEO and industry pioneer Cyrus Rowlett “C.R.” Smith celebrated the facility’s opening with an eye toward the future.

“We plan to become citizens of Tulsa and Oklahoma,” Smith said. “We plan a great expansion and development in this city and this state. Our future is ahead of us. We are looking forward.”

Over the years, almost every aircraft type flown by American passed through Tulsa’s hangars. Early propeller-powered models such as the DC-3 and Convair 240 soon made way for turbofan engines powering Boeing 707s. Boeing 727s and 747s and the McDonnell-Douglas DC-10s and legendary MD-80s later occupied hangars. Modern Boeing 737 and 787 families of aircraft touch down at the base for scheduled maintenance work today.

Tech Ops – Tulsa, which is currently undergoing $400 million in improvements, has grown to 3.3 million square feet of hangar and shop space sprawling across 330 acres at Tulsa International Airport. Together with the airline’s nearby offsite composite repair and wheel and brake facilities, these technical centers of excellence provide maintenance and related support to more than 400 aircraft that visit the base annually.

The source of the base’s success — and the standard set for the industry — is the people. Today, nearly 5,000 team members (including more than 2,300 licensed aviation maintenance technicians) work in aircraft overhaul, component repair, engine overhaul, engineering, supply chain, facilities maintenance and information technology, to keep Tech Ops – Tulsa moving 24/7. And they’re not just individual team members — the base has familial roots with generations of families working at the base over the decades.

The Flagship San Francisco, a Douglas DC-3, leaves the hangar July 17, 1946, after undergoing the first aircraft overhaul at Tech Ops – Tulsa.

Eighty years after the maintenance base opened, the airline continues looking forward to welcoming the next generation of aviation maintenance professionals through its hangar doors. In 2024, American announced a partnership with Tulsa Tech — the alma mater of many current Tech Ops – Tulsa Team members — providing interviews to top students and ongoing engagement opportunities with the airline’s team members, formalizing a decades-long relationship with the school. American also sponsored Tulsa Tech’s adult student team at the 2026 Aerospace Maintenance Council Competition. Tech Ops – Tulsa team members mentored students leading up to the competition, and that partnership paid off — the team took first place among all 47 schools.

More airline news:

American Airlines announces $550 million investment to its Tulsa Maintenance Base

American Airlines announced today it will invest $550 million at its Base Maintenance facility in Tulsa (Tech Ops – Tulsa). It is American’s largest Base Maintenance facility and is an integral part of operating the carrier’s fleet of nearly 1,000 mainline aircraft safely and reliably.

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.

This investment underscores American’s long-term commitment to the Tech Ops – Tulsa team, State of Oklahoma and City of Tulsa by making improvements to ensure success.

“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 CEO 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 narrowbody 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.

Investing in Tulsa

American has proudly maintained the world’s largest commercial aviation maintenance facility in Tulsa since 1946, when it moved its main maintenance base there from New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Today, Tech Ops – Tulsa is home to 22 buildings, including 3.3 million square feet of hangar and shop space positioned on 330 acres at Tulsa International Airport. It is a hub for American’s Base Maintenance system, which also includes key maintenance hangars at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Pittsburgh International Airport. American performs more maintenance work in-house than any other airline, due in part to its strong maintenance system infrastructure.

The modernization plan is the latest step following a period of growth for the Tulsa base. American insourced CFM56-5B engine overhaul work there in 2018. In 2019, American and the City of Tulsa invested in a new tail slot modification for Hangar 2D at the base to allow space for larger aircraft. The team began maintenance work on the first scheduled line of Airbus A319 fleet as well as scheduled maintenance on the Boeing 787 fleet, and component repair work was insourced to the base’s Wheel and Brake Center. To support the additional work, American has added more than 600 maintenance positions.

American insources additional brake and wheel component work at its Tulsa Maintenance Base

American Airlines made this announcement:

American Airlines will insource additional component maintenance work in the Brake and Wheel Center (BWC) at its Base Maintenance facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma, beginning January 1, 2020. The work will be transitioning from an outside vendor to Tulsa and will include wheel and brake component maintenance for aircraft, including the Airbus A319, A320, A321, A321neo and A330 fleets, as well as Boeing 757 and 787 fleets.

The new component work rounds out a year of growth at Tech Ops – Tulsa. Earlier this year, American and the City of Tulsa invested in a new tail slot modification for Hangar 2D at the base maintenance facility to allow space for larger aircraft. The team also began maintenance work on the first scheduled line of Airbus A319 fleet as well as scheduled maintenance on the Boeing 787 fleet. To support the additional work this year, the base also hired more than 500 maintenance positions.

“This additional wheel and brake component work is great for the Tech Ops – Tulsa team,” said Erik Olund, Managing Director of Base Maintenance at American. “Today’s news is just another example of sustainable, cost-saving work that our highly skilled team of professionals will produce reliably and safely.”

American insources more maintenance work than any other airline. Increasing the component work performed in-house further demonstrates American’s long-term commitment to the Tulsa operation and the talented Base Maintenance team. This new work, and the work that Tech Ops – Tulsa regularly performs today, is an integral part of helping the airline run a safe and reliable operation.

The BWC performs overhaul and repair work on nearly all of the brakes and wheels on American’s fleet. The 80,000-square-foot facility was established in 2014 and is responsible for the machining, engineering and welding of worn brakes and wheels on aircraft.

With the increased maintenance work in the BWC, American expects to add nearly 30 support and Overhaul Support Mechanic positions.

More than 5,400 people currently work at Tech Ops – Tulsa, including more than 100 at the BWC. The 22 buildings on the main base, which includes 3.3 million square feet of hangar and shop space, sit on 330 acres, which makes it the largest commercial aviation maintenance facility in the world.