AAR Corp.. AAR Corp. is an American provider of aircraft maintenance services to commercial and government customers worldwide. The company is headquartered in Wood Dale, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. The company employs about 6,000 people, operating in about 30 different countries. John Holmes is the current CEO.

AAR is an independent provider of aviation services. It sells both new and used parts and is one of the largest in the world for selling used parts. AAR has about $2.5 billion in revenue as of 2024. , the company operates major maintenance facilities in Indianapolis, Miami, Oklahoma City, Rockford, Illinois, Trois Rivieres, Quebec and Windsor, Ontario.

AAR's component repair and landing gear repair services are conducted at owned facilities in Chonburi, Thailand and Amsterdam, Netherlands. It also has leased facilities in Brussels, Belgium and Crawley, United Kingdom. In addition, AAR operates sales offices from locations in London, Crawley, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Dubai.

History 
The company was founded by Ira Allen Eichner in 1951, to supply radios and other equipment to the commercial aviation industry. I.A. Allen Industrial was incorporated in 1955, renamed Allen Aircraft Radio (AAR) in 1962, and became AAR CORP. in 1970. Also, in 1969, AAR began its aircraft maintenance business in Oklahoma City. In 1965, AAR expanded to Europe and opened a Singapore office in 1982.

AAR organized its Aircraft Turbine Center, Inc. in 1979 after future CEO David P. Storch, Eichner's son-in-law, joined the company.

In 2016, AAR Corp opened its Rockford, Illinois hanger, which AAR Corp is using to guide its current projects in Miami and Oklahoma City to ensure smoother start-ups.

David P. Storch was  CEO from 1996 to 2018. In 2018, John M. Holmes became CEO.

In 2017, AAR was chosen as the prime contractor for a 15-year, $909 million landing gear award to provide total supply-chain management to support all U.S. Air Force and contractor requisitions received for all C-130, KC-135 & E-3 landing gear parts.

In September 2019, the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command awarded AAR a $118M contract for procuring, modifying, and delivering two C-40 aircraft to the U.S. Marine Corps.

During the Trump administration, AAR quadrupled its lobbying expenditures. The company spent large sums at Trump-owned properties with the intent to get Trump to view the company more favorably. From the time Trump took office until October 2020, AAR obtained 10 new federal contracts worth a total of $1.35 billion.

In April 2021, AAR signed a multi-year agreement with United Airlines to provide heavy maintenance services in Rockford, Illinois. AAR plans to add up to 250 more aviation maintenance technician (AMT) jobs at the facility to meet increased demand from United.

AAR announced its plans to buy Triumph's (TGI) Product Support Group for $725 million in an all-cash deal on December 21, 2023. The deal closed March 1, 2024, and included five facilities, four in the U.S. and one in Thailand.

On March 27, 2024, AAR began construction on a new 114,000 sq. ft. maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility at Miami International Airport (MIA), expanding its airframe MRO capacity by 33%. The facility is set to open in October 2025 and is expected to create over 200 jobs in Miami.

In 2024, AAR expanded and extended its support of Sumitomo Precision Products on the V2500 engine component distribution. In the same year, AAR has also started offering Parts Manufacturer Approvals (PMA).

In September 2024, AAR reported a 20% increase in fiscal Q1 sales. AAR's largest non-government customers in 2024 are North American airlines, with United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Air Canada, and Southwest Airlines collectively making up 71% of the company's consolidated revenue in the first quarter.

After completing a pilot program with United Airlines, AAR announced in  October 2024 that it is digitizing maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations across its facilities, with the initiative intended to improve efficiency.

In December 2024, AAR agreed to resolve U.S. charges in connection with schemes to bribe Nepalese and South African officials. AAR agreed to pay more than $55 million to resolve investigations done by the Justice Department and SEC.

Financial trends 
Annual financial highlights (U.S. Dollars in millions except per share data):

See also 
 List of S&P 600 companies

References

External links 
 

Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Aircraft engineering companies
Aerospace companies of the United States
American companies established in 1951
Transport companies established in 1951
Companies based in DuPage County, Illinois
Defense companies of the United States
1951 establishments in Illinois