Look inside the new American Airlines jet and its Pittsburgh manufacturing base

PITTSBURGH — In a bright, cavernous hangar at Pittsburgh International Airport, American Airlines’ newest jet sits, surrounded by workers and flanked on either side by two other airliners.

The A321neo — 144 feet long, 38 feet tall with a wingspan of 114 feet — is a beehive of activity. Almost every door and latch is open, as are the engine cowlings. Large yellow ladders surround the aircraft, allowing the mechanics access to every part of the jet.

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS: New American Airlines Airbus A321neo

The jet has been the center of attention for the American Airlines Pittsburgh maintenance base ever since it arrived about 24 hours earlier from a factory in Hamburg, Germany. After a brief stop at the terminal, it was taxied to the hangar across the field and is in the midst of an intensive two-week workover.

"This is our new baby," said Bob Black, a lead mechanic at the Pittsburgh maintenance base, where about 500 maintenance workers and engineers specialize in American Airlines's Airbus fleet. American Airlines (Nasdaq: AAL) gave the Pittsburgh Business Times an exclusive look inside the maintenance facility and a closer look at the first Airbus A321neo.

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