American Airlines adds 500 aircraft maintenance jobs at Charlotte and two other airports

American Airlines is adding about 500 jobs for aircraft maintenance technicians to work on planes in Charlotte and two other cities, the carrier announced Monday.

A total of 133 incremental maintenance positions are now available in Charlotte, according to a news release from the airline. This includes 122 aircraft maintenance technician jobs. AMTs inspect and repair planes to make sure they are safe and operational.

For American, the new jobs represent an opportunity to grow its maintenance capacity and capabilities at the airport, said Greg Emerson, vice president of base maintenance and facilities.

American currently employs close to 500 AMTs in Charlotte, according to Ralph Lopez Massas, senior vice president of CLT Hub Operations. About 15,000 jobs are associated with the company in the region.

“We’re very happy with the growth and the ability to hire and bring AMTs on board and the impact that it has for the airline,” he said. “But also for the community and the economy of our region.”

American is moving in-house work for periodically checking fleet from Pittsburgh to Charlotte, Massas said. The process is required every four years.

The hiring process starts while future AMTs are in the classroom at schools across the U.S., according to the airline. American’s Technical Operations team works with students at institutions such as Tulsa Tech, West Los Angeles College and the Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Charlotte. A dual-enrollment training course is also available for local high school students to earn AIM credits early.

“We’ve been partnering deeply with (AIM) and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system to influence a healthy pipeline of aircraft maintenance technicians,” he said.

Top-performing students are guaranteed interviews with American after graduation and obtaining related licenses for the jobs.

Salary for the positions start at $80,000 and go up to $150,000 per year.

The jobs at Charlotte Douglas International Airport was a part of an announcement that also included base maintenance teams in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Pittsburgh. American previously added more than 300 positions to its Tulsa maintenance base.

American Airlines at CLT

American Airlines accounts for about 87% of the flights at the Charlotte airport. Charlotte Douglas is the second-largest hub for the Fort Worth, Texas-based company.

One of the airline’s biggest jets is coming to Charlotte Douglas with the 304-seat Boeing 777-300ER . In November, It will provide one of three daily flights from Charlotte to London’s Heathrow Airport .

CLT served 53.4 million passengers last year — an 11.9% increase from 2022, according to the Airports Council International-North America. It is the seventh-busiest airport worldwide for arrivals and departures, according to ACI rankings for 2023.