Aviation is a world of cycles, where new ways of operating come and go and sometimes come back again, often driven by external threats that cause airlines to change strategy. Maintenance is going through a new cycle of bringing more work back in-house rather than sending it to a third party, but finding talented people is the challenge.

MRO is changing

The COVID-19 pandemic taught us many things, and the effects of supply chain disruptions are still rippling through the industry, be it with new aircraft production, engines or keeping existing planes in the air. Airlines have learned the hard way that more people need to be enticed into the maintenance industry, trained and paid equal to their worth as they struggle to find the skilled technicians they need.

On Monday, American Airlines announced it is creating nearly 500 new aviation maintenance jobs, including more than 385 licensed aviation maintenance technician (AMT) positions. The airline also announced adding additional lines of heavy maintenance work at its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) bases in Charlotte, Pittsburgh and Tulsa.

Adding those lines and people will allow American Airlines (American) to perform additional heavy maintenance checks at those facilities. This follows the previously announced decision to add more than 300 new jobs at American’s Tech Ops-Tulsa maintenance base, made possible by a $22 million grant awarded by the State of Oaklahoma Business Expansion Incentive Program in 2023.

Photo: American Airlines

That grant is helping American grow and improve the world’s largest commercial aircraft maintenance base, including American’s engine repair and overhaul facility. The funding has already added hundreds of high-paying skilled new jobs to the Tulsa economy as American continues to enhance the world-class facility.

American Vice President of Base Maintenance and Facilities, Greg Emerson, said that the airline is excited to grow its talented Technical Operations workforce with more high-paying, skilled aviation maintenance positions. Speaking on today’s initiative, he added:

“It’s an opportunity to grow our maintenance capacity and capabilities in the near-term and preserve them over the long run by continuing to build our pipeline of future maintenance team members – which is important work American has been doing for some time.”

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

With a fleet of about 970 aircraft, not counting the planes operating with its regional carriers, America needs an enormous amount of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance work completed throughout the year. Close to half of the fleet are Airbus A320 Family aircraft, including variants of the A319, A320 and A321 narrowbody jets. The other half is made up of three Boeing aircraft types: the 737, 777 and 787 Dreamliners.

Attracting talent is the key issue

There is a growing global shortage of skilled aviation maintenance technicians, and the challenge for American is finding the right balance between hiring AMTs or aspiring mechanics starting out on their aviation careers. The airline has a long history of inspiring and preparing the next generation through its partnerships with schools across the United States.

Photo: American Airlines

Students enrolled in aviation maintenance programs at Tulsa Tech, West Los Angeles College and the Aviation Institute of Maintenance enjoy regular sessions with American’s Technical Operations teams, either on campus or at the airline’s maintenance hangars. Through those sessions, students receive guidance and real-life work experience as they complete their studies.

American guarantees job interviews with top-performing students when they graduate and receive their FAA Airframe and Powerplant Licenses. The airline works closely with aviation maintenance schools to provide hangar visits, participate in campus events and donate aircraft parts to help students have a relevant, hands-on learning experience.

Photo: Lukas Wunderlich | Shutterstock

American Airlines is not the only airline in the US, or indeed the world, looking for new talent to service legacy and new-generation aircraft and engines. Many airlines could not return their parked aircraft to service quickly enough after the pandemic eased, mainly because MRO shops did not have the capacity or people to meet demand. The cycle has turned in favor of having at least some MRO capacity in-house, as American has long done.

The new positions are now available on American’s website. There are 133 total openings, including 122 AMTs in Charlotte, 44 total openings, including 40 AMTs in Pittsburgh and 321 total openings, including 227 AMTs in Tulsa.