Tag: Doug Parker

American Airlines Announces $550 Million Investment in Tulsa Maintenance Base

February 28, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Facility employs more than 5,500 team members with 600 jobs added in 2019

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.

“With this historic investment, American Airlines continues to display their commitment to Oklahoma. As one of the largest employers in our state, American Airlines plays an integral role in our economy and provides quality jobs for our citizens,” Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said. “I am proud that Oklahoma is one of the top states in the nation for the aviation and aerospace industry, and I am honored to have American Airlines choose Oklahoma, once again, to grow their business.”

Oklahoma Governor Stitt, City of Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum and Tulsa Regional Chamber President and CEO Mike Neal joined American leadership and nearly 2,000 team members this morning at a ceremony to unveil the project.

“This investment marks the largest single capital investment in our city’s history while also reflecting the long-term commitment of American Airlines to Tulsa,” Bynum said. “As a city, we are grateful that one of the largest employers in our community is a true partner with the kind of foresight that will create more opportunity in the next era of the aerospace sector.”

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.

“If there were any doubts about American’s long-term commitment to Tulsa, this transformative investment should put them to rest once and for all,” Neal said. “Through the Chamber-led regional economic development partnership Tulsa’s Future, and in collaboration with the City of Tulsa and State of Oklahoma, we’ve been able to support American’s continued growth in northeast Oklahoma. It’s been a personal privilege to work with American’s leadership team and Tulsa-area employees for more than 14 years, and we at the Chamber look forward to further strengthening this partnership for decades to come.”

Click the link below for more info on AA’s Tulsa Operations! http://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2020/American-Airlines-Announces-550-Million-Investment-to-its-Tulsa-Maintenance-Base-OPS-INF/default.aspx

American Airlines Donates $50,000 to Pittsburgh Community

October 30, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

FORT WORTH, Texas – American Airlines is donating $25,000 to the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and $25,000 to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Our Victims of Terror Fund to support the community in the wake of Saturday’s shooting.

“We were devastated to learn about the senseless act of violence this weekend at the Tree of Life Synagogue,” said Chairman and CEO Doug Parker. “American has been serving the Pennsylvania community for nearly 80 years, and we want to do our part to ensure members of the synagogue and affected Pittsburghers have access to the resources they need to care for those impacted.”

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is the heart of Jewish Pittsburgh — the central fundraising, planning and organizing body of the Jewish community. It is committed to creating a thriving, vibrant, and engaged Jewish Community in Pittsburgh, in Israel, and around the world. Funds collected for Our Victims of Terror are ‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍earmarked for psychological services, support for families, general services, reconstruction, additional security throughout the community, and medical bills for all those involved, as well as counseling and other services that may prove necessary in the future. In the Jewish Federation’s emergency campaigns such as this, 100 percent of the money raised will go directly to the cause.

“Despite this terrible tragedy, the outpouring of support from around the world has been truly heartwarming,” said Adam Hertzman, Director of Marketing for the Jewish Federation. “We are so grateful to American Airlines for joining so many people and organizations in reaching out to help the Pittsburgh community in our time of greatest need.”

American is committed to inclusion in the communities where we live and work, as well as nationally and globally. The airline began working with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in 2017 to fight hate, bias, and bigotry and build respect, understanding, and unity. ADL and American share the goals of creating safe and inclusive communities where being different is not a liability, and diversity is a cherished strength.

The company also supports the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance. Founded in 1984, the museum is dedicated to teaching the history of the Holocaust and advancing human rights to combat prejudice, hatred, and indifference.

American’s roots in Pennsylvania go back to 1939, when predecessor airline All American Airlines began operating in many small western Pennsylvania communities. Today, American proudly employs nearly 10,000 team members in Pennsylvania and operates 504 daily departures from eight cities across the state, 47 of which are from Pittsburgh.

About American Airlines Group
American Airlines and American Eagle offer an average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in more than 50 countries. American has hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. American is a founding member of the oneworld® alliance, whose members serve more than 1,000 destinations with about 14,250 daily flights to over 150 countries. Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AAL. In 2015, its stock joined the S&P 500 index.

Image from pittsburghpa.gov

Is American Airlines Recession Proof?

October 22, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

In recent years, American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) CEO Doug Parker has been one of the most vocal advocates of the idea that industry consolidation has permanently transformed the U.S. airline business. Whereas airlines have historically lost huge sums of money during periodic industry busts, Parker has boasted that American Airlines will never lose money again.

Yet on the surface, management’s optimistic outlook seems to clash with a trajectory of declining profits at American Airlines. If the company is struggling to maintain its profitability in a robust economy, one could reasonably wonder how it would do in an economic downturn. Indeed, American Airlines stock is down 38% year to date, so investors clearly are skeptical.

Click the link below for the full story!

Is American Airlines Recession Proof?

American Airlines Announces $550 Million Investment in Tulsa Maintenance Base

American Airlines Donates $50,000 to Pittsburgh Community

Is American Airlines Recession Proof?

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