American Airlines Invests $550M to Expand Tulsa Maintenance Hub

American Airlines has announced a $550 million investment in its Tulsa, Oklahoma maintenance facility— the largest capital outlay in the carrier’s history for a maintenance location. The upgrade will span roughly seven years and will modernize virtually every building on the complex.

The Tulsa site is the airline’s flagship maintenance base, handling almost half of all aircraft work. It currently supports more than 5,500 employees.

Key components of the project include a new 193,000‑square‑foot hangar capable of housing two wide‑body aircraft—or up to six narrow‑body jets—alongside a 132,000‑square‑foot base support building that will house administrative, engineering, and overhaul teams. Construction of these structures is slated to begin early 2021 and is expected to finish in about 18 months.

The modernization plan also covers essential infrastructure updates: roof replacements, utility upgrades, state‑of‑the‑art IT systems, and ramp repairs. The new wide‑body hangar will replace two older hangars that can no longer accommodate the airline’s current fleet size, enabling the facility to service more than 900 aircraft that visit annually while expanding the wide‑body capacity across American’s network.

American’s Tulsa base has seen a wave of growth since 2018, when the airline began in‑house CFM56‑5B engine overhauls. In 2019, the company and the city invested in a tail‑slot modification at Hangar 2D to accommodate larger aircraft. The facility has recently taken on scheduled maintenance for the Airbus A319 fleet and the Boeing 787, and it now hosts the Wheel & Brake Center for component repairs. To support this expansion, American has added more than 600 new maintenance positions.

"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," said Doug Parker, Chairman and CEO.

Since 1946, American has operated the world’s largest commercial aviation maintenance facility in Tulsa, moving its main base from New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Today, Tech Ops – Tulsa spans 22 buildings, 3.3 million square feet of hangar and shop space, and sits on 330 acres at Tulsa International Airport.

For more information, visit American Airlines News.