On The Ground At JetBlue’s JFK Hangar

JetBlue’s hangar at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, NY opened in 2005. In addition to the 140,000 sq. ft. long-span hangar space, the facility includes workshops, warehouse space, break rooms and office space.

In addition to space for three aircraft inside, work is done on aircraft at three spots outside the hangar, rain or shine. While system operations tries to divert aircraft to other cities in the case of particularly bad weather, if remaining aircraft cannot fit in the hangar, technicians prep the aircraft and cover them. The hangar also has an inflatable “igloo” that can be used for engine work.

JFK is JetBlue’s busiest operation, with up to 175 daily departures. To help keep up with the heavy workload, all JetBlue technicians were recently equipped with iPads to help with mobility, so they no longer need to go back to the office to print paperwork or look at manuals.

Out of JetBlue’s 11 maintenance cities, three (Boston, Orlando and New York) have hangars at: Boston Logan International Airport, Orlando International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport. The majority of the airline’s spare parts are kept in these hangars and allocated based on the need for that location’s flight activity.

Some of the many spare parts kept at JetBlue’s JFK hangar are kept on shelves where technicians can grab them on-demand as needed.

Since the inventory at the JFK hangar is so large, technicians generally do not need to source outside parts very often. When they do, the part is usually sourced from another JetBlue station.

Bulkier parts are kept together in one of the warehouse rooms.

Smaller parts are kept in another room.

Aviation Week was allowed special access to this quarantine area, where damaged parts are kept before determinations can be made about whether they can be repaired or need to be scrapped.

Parts can be ordered by technicians at the window pictured here.

These bikes are used to help crewmembers move parts around quickly and easily.

Hazardous and flammable materials are kept in these lockers.

One of the hangar’s multiple tool rooms. JetBlue has spent about $1.1 million on additional tooling for technicians system-wide in the last year alone.

The JetBlue hangar at JFK mostly handles line maintenance and things like engine and gear changes. Heavy maintenance is generally sent to JetBlue’s hangar in Orlando, Florida.

This Embraer 190 was in the JFK hangar for a data load and an antenna change.

JetBlue technicians work on a data load for the Embraer 190 aircraft.

The Embraer 190’s antenna being changed by technicians from Thales. Thales acquired LiveTV from JetBlue in 2014 in a $399 million deal and the companies have a partnership to further innovation. LiveTV provides passenger connectivity, live television and wireless video services.

Theresa Parks is the first female supervisor of maintenance for JetBlue. She manages around 40 crewmembers at night and says it is currently the airline’s busy season, with up to around 30 remain overnights (RONs) at the line, not counting at the hangar.

Three shifts are worked at the JFK hangar, including eight hour day and swing shifts, as well as a 10 hour midnight shift. Pictured here (left to right) are Andriw Roman, Mohammad Alam, Robert Barone and Theresa Parks, who were finishing up a midnight shift during MRO Network’s visit.

JetBlue is planning a refresh of the hangar facility at JFK in the next year or so. According to Lori DiMarco, director, maintenance and materials operations, JetBlue wants to make sure their facilities are reflective of the airline’s culture and values. “It’s the right time to refresh the facility and make sure it’s the right environment for our crewmembers,” she says.

Most of JetBlue’s maintenance is done in-house. The airline’s only contract maintenance affiliations are with Thales for its LiveTV system, GE for its engine wash system, and carpet cleaners.