Behind the Scenes of American Airlines’ Huge Fort Worth Campus and DFW

This is what Avgeek dreams have achieved.

Some of us browsed the behind-the-scenes observations of American Airlines Fort Worth, Texas headquarters, training facilities and operations centers in TPG. We are also close contact in the second-busy airport in the United States and in the large foundation of Americans’ Dallas Worth International Airport (DFW).

Here are some of what we’ve seen.

American Airlines is headquartered in Fort Worth

Since its opening in 2019, American Airlines has invited TPG to its vast campus.

This time, TPG Senior Aviation reporter Sean Cudahy, Points and Miles’ chief reporter Katie Genter, aviation executive editor Ben Mutzabaugh and I received a coveted invitation, an invitation to what the airline calls “Skyview” – we made the most of it.

Although we didn’t have time to see some highlights everywhere on the 300 acres of campus.

The headquarters is estimated to cost $350 million, which shows.

DFW suggests that the airline’s entire campus may represent a $1 billion investment. Oneworld, a global aviation alliance that Americans are part of Americans, moved to campus in 2022.

Once you enter the large building American Call Skyview 8, you will see a huge open hall surrounded by concentric meeting rooms.

Walking in, you need to look up at the ceiling, which is designed to resemble the interior of a jet engine.

We also look at the Executive Board.

Views of the campus from Skyview 8.

The main building is filled with aviation-themed artworks, such as the giant seat belt sculpture below.

We all like another sculpture in the hall made entirely from security cards. I love seeing the cards of the plane AA no longer fly, which brings back great memories of the Airbus A330 that retired during the pandemic in the United States. I had to fly these jets on those days I belonged to American Airlines.

The wall of the model of the plane made me want to put some in my suitcase. I have several aircraft models at home, but no American Airlines.

There is art with aviation as the theme throughout the building.

Also on display: American Airlines cabin crew uniform accessories.

Of course, the engine model is very popular with TPG.

The flying ODE even expanded to an employee cafeteria, which features engine fan blade chandeliers.

The Americans also showcased some of its latest bedding and new convenience kits. The airline will continue to use existing amenities kits, but it will also be mixed with new kits from LA beauty retailer 13 Lune and lotion and lip balm from brands like Joanna Vargas.

Bedding is also undergoing major upgrades: Americans are throwing away single-use plastics and making new pillows and blankets from recyclable materials. Blankets are the John Horsfall brand of the replay series, with slippers and pajamas from Nest.

American Airlines’ integrated operation center

As part of the tour, the United States demonstrates the integrated operations center, essentially the airline’s neural center. This space is a Mammoth with an area of ​​149,000 square feet.

The center handles more than 20 unique airline features, with approximately 1,700 employees working 24/7 to keep Americans running smoothly.

Workers handle crew planning and tracking, central load planning, cargo operation control, onboard operation support, meteorology, scheduling, maintenance and customer service, and other features. There are screens and computers everywhere, and various workers’ pods are distributed in sponge-like spaces. There is also a huge meeting room in the event of irregular operations or other problems.

One of the largest areas in the room is the elevated platform at the Center for the IOC, which is called the “bridge.” On its website, Americans say here, “The duty teacher can make decisions safely and effectively 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (7 days a week). Important IOC task force is also represented on the bridge to ensure fast and effective information sharing and collaboration.”

Americans say it tracks 1,500 planes and more than 6,000 flights a day.

As an aviation fan, I was even more excited to see all the airline souvenirs throughout the operation center.

Check out an interesting small shuttle bus called Skyview Express, which takes staff and guests around campus.

American Airlines Flight Training Academy

The Americans conducted very powerful training operations on their Fort Worth campus. DFW Flight Training Academy trains hundreds of pilots every month. “Every year, American pilots run millions of challenging flight training miles, testing thousands of emergencies and failures to ensure safety and preparation,” the American said.

Check out the life-size model of the plane with a swimming pool to train the water landing site.

There are also full-size aircraft models, such as the Airbus A321T, where flight attendants can train in real life.

We also take a look at the Fire and Self-Defense Training Classroom where the cabin staff learns and masters the key skills that each must become a flight attendant.

There are even fake doors to train support staff. Standing in this room, you almost think you are inside the airport terminal.

Skyview 3 features flight training academy, simulator and classrooms in the United States. We have to take turns using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight simulator; the United States has 30 mainline full flight simulators in this position alone!

Pretending to take off and land in the simulator is an incredible experience – check out the list of bucket list items there.

Control Room and Operations of the Fort Dallas Worth International Airport (DFW)

We also looked around DFW’s American Hub Operational Neural Center. Just behind a simple-looking door, an elevator took us to the top of a building with dozens of workstations, with hundreds of screens inside.

Staff members are tracking on-time listings from catering to boarding. These guys piece together the puzzles of operating the busiest hub in the United States.

Before joining TPG, I worked in the TV control room for most of my time. It’s kind of like a wired news control room, on steroids only.

There are cameras that track every gate and every plane, as well as various shots of aprons and runways.

It’s really impressive to see that keep American Airlines’ runway operations on track.

On the DFW’s tarmac and apron

Americans also showcased some busy “apron” areas at DFW, loading with cargo, food and luggage before each flight.

We also checked the belly of one of the terminals and moved from the airport gate and apron in an incredibly complex way.

Bottom line

This visit to the American Airlines campus and DFW is one of my favorite Avgeek experiences ever and I’m glad that Americans let us share a little with you.

I hope to travel to campus again at some point to see the CR Smith Museum and the staff hotel that will open in January 2023.

All in all, it is one of the best airline campuses in the world, hoping to be inspired by the lucky employees known as home (even during short-term training periods).

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