With the recent induction of the first CFM56-5B engine from its Tulsa, Oklahoma facility, American Airlines Group (American) has successfully transitioned, in house, maintenance work previously carried out by the engine’s manufacturer, General Electric Co. The move to bring this work in-house was announced a year ago. In a statement, American said: “Bringing this work to Tulsa is a testament to the hard work and talent of the mechanics and support personnel in the engine shop and their goal to be the very best in the industry.”
This means American insources more work than any other airline as it also works on the CFM56-7B variant model in Tulsa. 85 additional employees have been taken on at Tulsa to deal with the increased workload as the CMF56-5B powers 151 of the American’s Airbus A320 aircraft, while the -7B variant powers over 300 Boeing aircraft for the carrier.
American will induct three more -5Bs this year, with 30 more engine visits planned for 2019. The process of getting the shop ready for the -5B variant of the engine in addition to the -7B work has been a massive undertaking. “You don’t realize what a big project it is to get ready for something like this, especially with things like tooling,” said Jim Blesi, an aviation maintenance technician, in a prepared statement.
American Airlines, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas is the world’s largest airline measured by fleet size operating across a wide international and domestic network, averaging approximately 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in over 50 countries. As at July this year, American had a fleet of 956 aircraft, the majority of which being Airbus and Boeing jets, but which also includes Embraer and McDonnell Douglas aircraft.
