CUSTOMER CASEAviation solutions
Megadoor solution allows Southwest Airlines to think bigger
2024-06-26
2 min read
Southwest Airlines recently opened its largest hangar to date in the Southwest region, and with the help of ASSA ABLOY, they have been able to significantly upscale maintenance capacity, while providing employees with improved working conditions.
Southwest Airlines is the world's largest affordable airline company with more than 3000 flights on a daily basis. The Houston Hobby Airport alone has almost 200 Southwest Airlines takeoffs per day during peak season, to nearly 70 different destinations across the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Southwest Airlines selected the ASSA ABLOY VL3190 Megadoor vertical-lifting fabric door for the new Houston Hobby facility. This is the optimal solution for extremely large door openings, suited for aircraft hangars and shipyard halls. The Megadoor is designed to meet all customer needs, offering durability, reliability and a minimum requirement for maintenance.
Intuitive and convenient
The ASSA ABLOY VL3190 Megadoor can be operated from a touchscreen display, eliminating the need for manual operation. Control units are placed on each end, allowing employees to easily access and navigate the doors from different points in the facility.
Clark Miller, Senior Manager of Maintenance for Technical Operations, adds:
“The Megadoor solution is a lot safer and a lot more convenient than our previous sliding doors. Also, we don't run into the issues of blockage of the tracks or flat tires on the drive wheel.”
Think big and act faster
At the Southwest Airlines maintenance facility, efficiency is key. Houston Hobby employs more than 300 technical operations employees and about 240 mechanics. It is a place bustling with activity on a daily basis and the new hangar gives Southwest Airlines the space and ease-of-use needed to grow.
Miller adds:
“With the Megadoors we don't need to open a door completely. We can simply lift one door up to the height required to move any type of equipment in and out of this facility.”
At the company's previous hangar, Southwest Airlines had limited space and could only accommodate two aircraft in the hangar. Due to the new and improved hangar doors, Southwest Airlines can now work on and maintain up to six aircraft at the same time.
Increased natural light
Not only does the ASSA ABLOY hangar door solution decrease downtime of the aircraft by increasing productivity, it also increases natural light in the working area by using a translucent fabric. The natural light improves the working environment and minimizes energy costs, making additional lighting unnecessary during daytime.
“Light is very important in our industry and the more light we can have come into the hangar, the better. The translucent effect of the doors is extremely important to our operations,” says David Mitchell, Senior Manager of Maintenance for Technical Operations at the Houston Hobby facility.
Businesses of any size can benefit from partnering with ASSA ABLOY. From our comprehensive portfolio of high-speed industrial doors, to the ease and efficiency of our service teams, we are the ideal partner for optimizing processes and safety in all lines of business.
Contact us today to learn more.