New United Airlines Maintenance Complex: Where Reliability Takes Flight

Keeping North America’s largest airline fleet in the air depends on high-performing operations on the ground.

Enter a new United Airlines maintenance complex at Orlando International Airport, designed and built to maintain, repair and overhaul more planes faster than ever before.

The project, covering more than 300,000 square feet, will help keep passengers airborne and on schedule as the legacy carrier continues elevating customer experience. A key component: planes that continue to feel and operate like new.

“The importance to our airline is significant,” says Elijah Bernard, senior project manager in planning and development for United Airlines. “We’re growing. One of the things that we’re going to be doing is taking on more aircraft. And, of course, more aircraft need a new facility to really manage that workload.”

The Orlando operation handles MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul), the heavy maintenance required by the Federal Aviation Administration based on aircraft age and operating hours. Each plane is brought in for inspections, repairs and upgrades, which could range from taking out interior seats and systems to disassembling wings and engines for cleaning and retooling.

“Then we put the aircraft back together,” says Bernard, who manages the airline’s portfolio of line hangars. “The whole purpose of heavy maintenance is to keep our airline, our aircraft, flying and flightworthy.”

Burns & McDonnell is design-builder for the project, with United opting for its first use of the project delivery approach that brings all aspects of the work — planning, engineering, procurement, construction — together under one firm, from the beginning.

Known as progressive design-build, the approach has accelerated work in Orlando by allowing construction to begin even before final design drawings were complete. United Airlines managers and other leaders continue to work closely with the integrated team from Burns & McDonnell, allowing for greater flexibility in decisions and adjustments to be made as conditions arise.

When crews encountered softer-than-expected soil that would affect deep foundations, for example, the team quickly pivoted. With design progressing from 30% to 60% complete, additional geotechnical investigation and consultations with contacts in the market uncovered a solid alternative, one that turned potential high-cost challenge into a lower-cost solution.

“That’s a huge difference,” says Jason Shepherd, aviation projects director for Burns & McDonnell. “That was a big deal for United Airlines.”

Such schedule and cost certainty make all the difference, Bernard says, especially as United embarks on additional hangar projects internationally. The airline is considering the approach for other potential work, from terminals to flight kitchens — all of them key to customer experience.

“As we’re expanding, we want to have assets and money available to do other projects,” he says. “Progressive design-build really allows us to hone in on our great time schedule as well as our cost targets.”

The MRO complex in Orlando is designed to boost both efficiency and safety for United’s heavy maintenance operations. Mezzanines reduce potential conflict points between workers and equipment as parts and materials are moved between planes, warehouse spaces and shops.

More than 1,000 employees work across United’s three existing buildings used for maintenance at the airport, all of which date back to the 1950s. Bernard says he’s looking forward to the new, consolidated complex providing state-of-the-art working conditions, offices, locker rooms and other spaces.

One of the existing hangars is being renovated and will be incorporated into the new complex, while another a mile away will be demolished. A warehouse in between will be vacated to make way for a new occupant, potentially an operator that could help strengthen the freight supply chain.

“We’ll have new neighbors that are going to bring more jobs to the community, more opportunities,” Bernard says. “It’s all come together to fit in the right time and space.”