JLL Tapped by Airbus to Manage 4.3 MSF U.S. Portfolio

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus has chosen JLL to provide facilities management services for its 4.3-million-square-foot U.S. real estate portfolio, including its Herndon, Va., corporate headquarters and manufacturing facilities.

The new contract more than doubles the square footage JLL will manage for Airbus. Services will include HVAC, electrical and plumbing maintenance services.

The deal calls for JLL’s specialized Aviation group to continue providing facilities management services for a 1.2-million-square-foot, 17-building portfolio that includes the headquarters for Airbus Americas, Inc. Airbus moved its North American headquarters to the Washington, D.C., metro in 1987 and has been at its current location at 2550 Wasser Terrace since 2011.

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The new contract adds facilities-related services for the 3.1-million-square-foot, 30-building manufacturing campus in Mobile, Ala. Dating back to 2015, Airbus has invested about $1 million in Mobile, the site of its first U.S.-based commercial aircraft manufacturing property.

In October, Airbus opened a new A320 final assembly line, which added 350,000 more square feet of manufacturing, office and logistics space at its campus in the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. Last year’s expansion includes more than 1 million square feet of hangar space and paint shops, as well as new distribution, delivery and welcome centers.

Overall, Airbus has about 7,000 workers at more than 40 sites in the U.S., including corporate offices; innovation, engineering and training centers; robotics and manufacturing sites; and maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities.

The team handling the Airbus account

JLL’s Aviation group leader and Managing Director Koley MacKay and JLL Account Director Winnie Buchanan are leading the JLL team providing the facilities management services to Airbus. Work Dynamics Principal Michael Colligan and the Solutions Department will provide support. JLL and Airbus have a long history of working together, including leasing advisory work by led by Vice Chairman Jeff Grohl and Senior Managing Director Michael Blyumin.

The Aviation group is part of JLL’s Industrials division.

Another high-flying deal

The Airbus contract comes several months after the Aviation group was tapped to handle facility maintenance services for the $9.5 billion New Terminal One at JFK International Airport in New York City. The 2.6-million-square-foot New Terminal Once is scheduled to open in phases beginning this year. Completion is slated for 2030, when the terminal will have 23 gates and more than 300,000 square feet of retail, dining and lounge space.

JLL’s Aviation group will maintain HVAC, plumbing, electrical, fire life safety and other essential technical services at the terminal. JLL will also manage and operate the building management and electric power monitoring systems and switchgear that power charging stations for the all-electric ground support fleet.

JLL gets global contract

JLL was selected by Rolls-Royce in August 2023 to be global facilities manager overseeing the company’s 15 million-square-foot real estate portfolio in the U.S., U.K., China, Germany, India and Singapore. The long-term contract started in February 2024, when JLL began operating as the company’s exclusive global FM partner for 44 sites, including manufacturing, warehouse and office space.

Part of its duties were to accelerate operational initiatives and help Rolls-Royce achieve its sustainability commitments.