ANCHORAGE — Alaska Airlines has announced plans to build a $40 million maintenance hangar at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport to support a growing fleet of bigger and more efficient airplanes.
Marilyn Romano, the company’s regional vice president, said the new hangar is part of a $100 million investment in Alaska that includes terminal updates and new cargo planes.
“We see that there’s still a future for business in the state of Alaska, and there’s definitely a future for Alaska Airlines in Alaska,” Romano said.
The Friday announcement also coincides with the company’s purchase of Virgin America, which is set to further expand its reach.
“It really sets our company up for the future,” Romano said.
Anchorage-based architecture firm McCool Carlson Green and general contractor Kiewit have been brought in to design and build the hangar, The Alaska Public Radio Network reported.
The new structure will be twice as big as the airline’s existing maintenance hangar at 105,000 square feet. It will be able to house two 737-Max 9 aircraft, the largest planes in the company’s fleet.
Construction is set to begin this fall and is expected to be complete in the spring of 2018.
