American Airlines thrilled with new engine work for Tech Ops-Tulsa

DALLAS — An executive at a company that has undergone bankruptcy, layoffs and a merger with US Airways in the past seven years, American Airlines’ David Seymour understands local employees’ lingering apprehension over job security.

“We jokingly say there are still folks who drive into work and think they are going to turn off the highway into Tulsa base and the gate’s going to be locked up with a sign that says, ‘Call this number to get your toolbox,’” said Seymour, the airlines’ senior vice president of integrated operations. “It’s not going to happen.

“But we have to get them over that fear. I can’t fault some of them for having that fear because they have had things thrown at them that none of us have had. It’s hard to put yourself in their shoes.”

The Tulsa Maintenance Base, also known as Tech Ops-Tulsa, employs 5,200 people and handles aircraft overhaul and component and avionics repair. It was established here in 1946.

“We’re not going anywhere,” said Erik Olund, managing director of Tech-Ops Tulsa. “Things have been tough, but we’re on a great path. Things are so good right now.”

Reasons for optimism

Seymour, Olund and Bill Cade, vice president of base maintenance, sat down with the Tulsa World last week after a session of the company’s annual leadership conference at the Hyatt Regency Dallas. They touched on such topics as the company’s fiscal fitness, base upgrades and the multigenerational pride of workmanship that exists in Tulsa.

They also drove home reasons for local optimism, foremost of which is extra engine work that was announced last year.

American Airlines plans to bring its CFM565B engine maintenance in-house beginning in October. The Tulsa shop already performs CFM567B overhauls. Seymour said American has roughly 950 of those two engines either on wing or available as spares.

“They have world-class turn times,” Seymour said of the folks at Tech-Ops. “I’ll put them up against any of the shops that are out there. Put that together with the back shop support that we have, the planners, the material folks and engineers that support that engine. We really have a great opportunity.

“It’s high-volume work. It’s long-term; that aircraft is going to be around for along time. And it’s consistent. With 950 engines, there’s always going to be work there.”

Plans for hangars

Plans also are underway to turn a couple of hangars into a 737 Center of Excellence to increase efficiency.

“What you’re looking for in a Center of Excellence is, how are you going to turn that airplane, how are you going to be most efficient with that airplane by flowing that airplane, flowing that part to a shop where it makes it easy for that employee to handle that part?”

Since the merger, American Airlines has spent $147 million dollars in Tulsa on capital improvements, a number that will approach $190 million this year, company spokeswoman Linda Brock said. A priority is addressing the base’s aging infrastructure.

“Down the road, depending where we are, we have to do something with the hangars, depending what aircraft that are going to be in there,” Seymour said. “Is there a concrete plan that we have? No. We’re still trying to fill it out.

“Over a long period of time, we didn’t do the investments we should have as an airline. But most airlines didn’t do that. You can’t right all the wrong in a really short period of time.”