Delta Air Lines Inc.’s maintenance, repair and overhaul unit has been chosen as an approved service provider for Rolls-Royce aircraft engines, a move that will lead to the expansion of its Atlanta engine shop.
Delta TechOps, which handles maintenance for Delta’s own fleet of 800 jets and those of other airlines, overhauled more than 600 engines last year, a technical process that can include dismantling the engine and reconditioning the parts.
The airline recently announced that it had ordered Rolls-Royce’s Trent XWB and Trent 7000 engines as part of some of its own recent Airbus jet purchases, so the investment will help keep Delta’s own fleet in the air while opening TechOps up to serving other airlines that rely on those models of engine.
The 100,000-square-foot engine-shop expansion at the Delta Technical Operations Center will begin next year. Among a variety of sections focused on parts refurbishment, the shop will include a massive concrete chamber where jet engines can be run at full thrust for testing.
Rolls-Royce plc, often confused with the luxury car brand that spun off from the business in the 1970s, is one of the world’s largest jet-engine manufacturers, competing with U.S.-based General Electric Co. The U.K.-based company also makes massive diesel engines that power many of the world’s container ships in its marine division.
Maintenance is a small but increasingly important part of Delta’s revenue mix, providing diversification while also keeping costs down for its own fleet. A few years ago the company reportedly set a $1 billion sales goal for TechOps. Delta’s MRO activity also anchors a thriving maintenance cluster growing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which is known better as the busiest passenger airport in the world.
According to the Center of Innovation for Aerospace in Georgia, maintenance operations and the trade in aircraft parts account for about one-third of Georgia’s sizable aerospace industry, specifically contributing about $2.4 billion to the economy and supporting more than 20,000 jobs.