The handover of a storied hangar is the latest fallout from Atlanta-based ExpressJet's loss of its contract as a Delta Connection carrier.
Regional carrier ExpressJet is handing the lease for its hangar at Hartsfield-Jackson International to Delta Air Lines, according to documents submitted by the airport for approval by Atlanta City Council. The hangar at 990 Toffie Terrace had been used for aircraft maintenance and previously housed the headquarters of ExpressJet and its predecessor Atlantic Southeast Airlines. ExpressJet will end its flying for Delta after late 2018.
The hangars of Hartsfield-Jackson tell the tales of Atlanta’s airline history. The ExpressJet facility, also known as the City North hangar, was originally built by Eastern Airlines and was acquired by the city in the 1990s when Eastern went bankrupt. Atlanta-based Delta negotiated with the city for years for the 1960s-era hangar, and in 1997 finally reached a deal to lease it. But Delta ended up returning the hangar to the city in 2006 after the airline filed for bankruptcy protection. The following year, Atlantic Southeast Airlines signed a 25-year lease with the city for the hangar. ASA merged into ExpressJet in a 2010 deal.
Delta plans to use the more than 200,000-square-foot hangar for TechOps maintenance, repair and overhaul of its growing fleet of large aircraft including the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 777, according to airport documents.
Endeavor Air, a Delta subsidiary, will take over much of the Atlanta flying ExpressJet has done for Delta Connection. Endeavor will sublease from Delta the City South hangar, which is the old Northwest Airlines hangar, according to Hartsfield-Jackson deputy general manager Michael Smith.
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