Airbus across America: Why planes go to Arizona to live forever

In the sun-drenched desert of Arizona, a 24/7 operation is breathing new life into global aviation fleets by turning retired aircraft into certified, sustainable parts.

A new purpose for aging aircraft in Glendale Arizona

The desert sun and bone-dry air of Phoenix, Arizona, make it a natural sanctuary for aging aircraft. Inside the sprawling, 680,000-square-foot global headquarters of Unical Aviation in nearby Glendale, this round-the-clock operation ensures retired aircraft keep the rest of the global fleet flying through advanced restoration.

Acquired by Airbus subsidiary Satair, Unical has transformed from its 1990 origins as an entrepreneurial garage business in California into one of the largest providers of aircraft aftermarket materials in the world. Under the leadership of CEO Sharon Green, the Glendale site and its sister facility in nearby Coolidge serve as a cornerstone of the commitment by Airbus to reduce aerospace waste and provide cost-effective maintenance solutions.

Strategic growth as America’s top Used Serviceable Material (USM) provider

In 2023, Unical relocated its operations from California to capitalize on the superior climate and lower operating costs of Arizona for aircraft preservation. The relocation required moving inventory from California’s Inland Empire, including 42 partially disassembled aircraft from San Bernardino and over a million parts from the City of Industry. The heavy lift established Unical’s state-of-the-art Glendale footprint without draining capital or taking on new debt.

Managing an inventory of 85 million parts, Unical is the largest holder of Used Serviceable Material in the United States. While trading used aircraft parts may appear simple from the outside, it is a highly regulated operation working under strict federal oversight.

The three-step aircraft parts lifecycle 

The aircraft lifecycle follows a precise three-step cycle. First, an aircraft enters commercial service, generating a steady demand for maintenance parts throughout decades of flight. Second, at the end of its flying life, the aircraft is carefully dismantled so valuable components can be harvested, inspected, and recertified to the same stringent safety and quality standards as brand-new parts. Finally, these recertified parts enter the aircraft-ready inventory at Unical, ready to be purchased and deployed back into commercial fleets worldwide.

An integrated desert pipeline at Coolidge airport

A key piece of this strategy clicked into place with the acquisition of UK-based ecube, a global leader in aircraft end-of-life services that operates a dedicated storage and disassembly facility at the municipal airport in Coolidge, Arizona. The two sites operate as a single pipeline: Unical acquires the retiring aircraft, ecube safely stores and dismantles them in the dry desert climate, and the harvested components travel to Glendale to be inspected, stocked, and sold.

Aerospace circular economy and A320 recycling

The environmental impact of this process is measurable. By weighing aircraft before and after disassembly, ecube tracks saved material down to the pound. On a recent Airbus A320 project, 90 percent of the total weight of the aircraft was recycled or repurposed. This process keeps tons of material out of landfills and sustainably keeps the global aerospace supply chain ticking.

This operational footprint forms part of an expanding global Used Serviceable Material ecosystem under Satair and Airbus, stretching from VAS operations in Florida to the Satair hub in Asia, alongside key sites in Europe. Supported by a global team exceeding 400 people, the facilities in Glendale and Coolidge demonstrate that the retirement of a plane is simply the start of a new chapter, sending certified components back to 30,000 feet once again.