Delta TechOps Adds LEAP-1A Overhaul Capability |

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Delta Air Lines announced that Delta TechOps, its maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) division, can now support operators with CFM International LEAP-1A engines, becoming the first North American airline to hold licenses for both LEAP-1A and LEAP-1 B.

On March 11, 2026, Delta Air Lines said that Delta TechOps, its MRO provider that also performs external work, is now capable of fully overhauling LEAP-1A engines, one of the engine options for the A320neo family.

“The addition of full overhaul capability for CFM LEAP-1A engines will further strengthen Delta TechOps’ position as a global leader in next-generation engine maintenance for the world’s most advanced narrowbody fleets.”

According to Alain Bellemare, the Executive Vice President of International and Chairman of Delta TechOps, LEAP engines represent a “significant and fast growing share of the global narrowbody fleet,” and adding overhaul capability for the LEAP-1A positions the MRO provider “squarely at the center of where the market is headed.”

With the addition of LEAP-1A capabilities, Delta TechOps has now become “one of a few select CFM Premier MRO providers for the LEAP engine family.”

According to CFM International, CFM Premier MRO providers “are part of an open MRO ecosystem in which CFM, Premier MRO providers, and third-party shops compete for MRO work.” Licensees “retain the highest level of training and support from CFM, as well as increased access to proprietary overhaul and repair technology.”

The open MRO ecosystem fosters competition, allowing operators to optimize costs and secure much-needed induction slots with faster turnaround times, the engine maker previously said.

That capacity is sought after because next-generation engines have struggled to maintain higher time-on-wing (TOW) levels, especially for operators at airports in harsh environments, such as hot weather and high altitudes.

Engine makers, including CFM International, have been making hardware improvements to TOW, including the new high-pressure turbine (HPT) durability kits on the LEAP-1A, which were certified in December 2024.

During GE Aerospace’s Q4 2025 earnings call on January 22, Larry Culp, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, said that in 2025, the engine maker added MTU Dallas as its sixth Premier MRO provider, supporting third-party shop visit growth, which comprised around 15% of total LEAP shop visits.

“We are dedicating approximately $500 million of our more than $1 billion of investment in MRO to LEAP,” which includes several MRO sites across the world. The investments should result in internal LEAP capacity to “roughly double,” Culp added, noting that in 2025, LEAP engines’ internal shop visit volume was up 27% year-on-year (YoY).

Culp stated that GE Aerospace wants to “make sure we continue to deliver improvements like the durability kit and the like to improve [TOW] and to reduce the total cost of ownership” for operators.

Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines will begin reporting Delta TechOps’ financial performance in 2026, noting that its MRO division’s revenue was $822 million in 2025, a significant improvement over $658 million in 2024.

Dan Janki, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Delta Air Lines, who will become the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the airline on April 30, said that the carrier is “optimistic about the MRO business,” pointing out that Delta TechOps had a “really good” year.

Delta Air Lines is excited for Delta TechOps to pass the $1 billion revenue mark, “then getting to $2 billion, then getting to $3 billion of top line that it can continue to grow.”

“This is a business that, where it is positioned, it is high-single digit margins today. It should be mid-teens,” Janki concluded.