{"id":11714,"date":"2019-01-27T04:32:16","date_gmt":"2019-01-27T04:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/?p=11714"},"modified":"2019-01-27T04:38:57","modified_gmt":"2019-01-27T04:38:57","slug":"american-airlines-celebrates-new-maintenance-hangar-at-ohare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/illinois\/american-airlines-celebrates-new-maintenance-hangar-at-ohare\/%20","title":{"rendered":"American Airlines Celebrates New Maintenance Hangar at O\u2019Hare"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Photo courtesy of Brooke Collins\/City of Chicago <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>American Airlines celebrated the opening of a new hangar at its hub at Chicago O\u2019Hare International Airport (ORD). Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and a U.S. congressional delegation from Illinois joined David Seymour, Senior Vice President of Integrated Operations; Franco Tedeschi, Vice President of ORD Hub Operations; Jamie Rhee, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation; and ORD team members for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the new hangar to be used by American\u2019s aviation maintenance technicians. The new facility, dubbed Hangar 2, is the largest hangar on the airfield at ORD, and its completion marks the carrier\u2019s latest milestone reached in a series of major investments in Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur team of highly skilled aviation maintenance technicians\nworks behind the scenes day and night to ensure that our aircraft are safe for\nour customers and team members,\u201d said Seymour. \u201cThe new hangar is a welcome\ninvestment in our Maintenance team and a win for our customers, who will\nbenefit from improved operational performance as a result of quicker\nmaintenance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The $215 million investment in the new hangar and ground\nequipment building is the latest example in a long list of investments in ORD,\nincluding: American\u2019s five new gates known as the L-Stinger, representing the\nfirst new gates at the airport in 25 years; a new Flagship Lounge; renovated\nAdmirals Club lounges; and an expanding list of new destinations added to the\nORD route network. These improvements set the framework for American to\ncontinue to grow its operation in Chicago and throughout the network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cToday marks a watershed moment for O\u2019Hare as we open the\nairport\u2019s first new hangar in 30 years,\u201d said Mayor Emanuel. \u201cAmerican Airlines\nrecognizes the value of this investment, and I look forward to working with all\nof our airline partners as we continue transforming O\u2019Hare and upholding\nChicago\u2019s status as a leading global gateway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 191,000-square-foot structure, which is replacing a smaller\nhangar on the airfield, has increased bay capacity. The hangar is able to\naccommodate six narrowbody aircraft or two narrowbody aircraft and two widebody\naircraft, including the Boeing 787, on which American operates international\nflights at ORD. The expanded space has allowed for more overnight workload\ncapacity in the past month that it\u2019s been open. Its high-tech features and\nupdated workcenters provide more than 850 ORD maintenance team members with the\nmost current tools to maintain the airline\u2019s state-of-the-art aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are pleased to join our partners at American Airlines in\ncelebrating O\u2019Hare\u2019s first new hangar building in over 30 years, and yet\nanother step forward in our efforts to modernize operations at O\u2019Hare,\u201d said\nRhee. \u201cAmerican\u2019s new hangar follows a series of investments to expand service\nin Chicago, supporting O\u2019Hare\u2019s leading global connectivity. Through our\ncontinued collaboration with all airline partners, we will deliver modern new\nrunways and facilities to improve service for travelers while powering more\neconomic opportunity for our city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cChicago residents and visitors alike are fortunate to have\none of the best airports in the world in O\u2019Hare, and the opening of its largest\naircraft hangar helps strengthen that status,\u201d added Rep. Mike Quigley. \u201cI\napplaud American Airlines for their commitment to operational advancements,\nwhich will improve safety and efficiency for passengers and better support the\ndedicated employees who make these trips possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new hangar facility makes way for the completion of new\nRunway 9C\/27C at O\u2019Hare, estimated for completion in 2020. The new runway is\none of many capital improvements underway to complete the airfield\nmodernization, which also sets stage for the forthcoming $8.5 billion terminal\nexpansion at O\u2019Hare. Additionally, American opened a new ground equipment\nmaintenance building at ORD this month, where vehicles and equipment used on\nthe airfield \u2014 like aircraft tugs, deicing trucks and baggage carts \u2014 are\nmaintained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAmerican Airlines has a long history in Illinois, and I am\nhappy to see the company continue to invest in O\u2019Hare,\u201d said Sen. Dick Durbin.\n\u201cThis new hangar facility will improve safety and efficiency for workers and\nhelp ensure that O&#8217;Hare remains a modern and dynamic transportation center.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cInvestments like this new maintenance hangar are critical\nto making air travel safer and more reliable for the traveling public while\ncreating jobs for hardworking Chicagoans,\u201d added Sen. Tammy Duckworth. \u201cI look\nforward to continuing to work with public and private stakeholders to improve\nO\u2019Hare Airport for the benefit of the Illinois\u2019 economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe opening of this new hangar is a very important step\nforward to continue upgrading O\u2019Hare International Airport,\u201d added Rep. Jesus\n\u201cChuy\u201d Garcia. \u201cThe investment American Airlines is making will help ensure the\nsafety of passengers, crew members and the ground team. As a member of the\nTransportation and Infrastructure Committee in the U.S. Congress, I look\nforward to working to continue modernizing and rebuilding our aviation\ninfrastructure across the nation, and in particular, in Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At ORD, American operates more than 500 daily flights to\nnearly 150 destinations. In 2018, American added 18 new destinations to its ORD\nroute network, including new service to Venice, Italy (VCE); Vancouver, British\nColumbia (YVR); and Honolulu (HNL). For 2019, American has already announced\nservice to an additional 12 new destinations, including Chicago\u2019s only nonstop\nservice to Athens, Greece (ATH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are now offering customers more seats in and out of\nChicago than at any time in the last 10 years,\u201d said Tedeschi. \u201cWith the new\nhangar, we have the space and tools to better serve our customers and our 9,300\nteam members based at ORD. We look forward to working with our partners at the\nCity of Chicago and reaching more milestones as Chicago\u2019s carrier of choice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The only hub carrier at ORD offering service on the Boeing\n787, American will fly up to 13 787s out of ORD on peak days next summer. In\nthe last five years since American Airlines merged with US Airways to create\nthe largest airline in the world, the carrier has added 28 new routes serving\nChicago. Additionally, American expanded its Shuttle product to fly between New\nYork LaGuardia (LGA) and ORD earlier this year, offering business travelers a\nmore convenient commute between the two business centers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>American supports a variety of community and civic programs\nin the Chicago area that are important to the city and its ORD-based team\nmembers, including the Rebuild Foundation, Goodman Theatre and the Chicago\nBotanic Garden. Team members support these programs through Do Crew, the\nairline\u2019s team member volunteer program. Additionally, American is the official\nairline of the Chicago Cubs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Photo courtesy of Brooke Collins\/City of Chicago American Airlines celebrated the opening of a new hangar at its hub at Chicago O\u2019Hare International Airport (ORD). Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and a U.S. congressional delegation from Illinois joined David Seymour, Senior Vice President of Integrated Operations; Franco Tedeschi, Vice President of ORD Hub Operations; Jamie Rhee, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-front-page-slider","category-illinois"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/ORD-Hangar-2-Ribbon-Cutting-012519-2.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11714"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11719,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11714\/revisions\/11719"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}