Ascent Aviation Maintenance Group Opens $70M Marana Facility, Tripling Wide-Body Capacity at Pinal Airpark

MARANA, AZ (December 12, 2025) — Ascent Aviation Services (“Ascent”) has officially opened two state-of-the-art, 90,000-square-foot wide-body maintenance hangars at its Pinal Airpark (MZJ) campus in Marana, marking one of the largest single capital investments in the company’s history. The new $70 million facilities expand Ascent’s total hangar capacity in Marana by more than 200%, enabling the company to accommodate additional Boeing 777, Airbus A330, and other large-jet platforms for heavy maintenance, overhauls, and special-mission modifications.

The expansion represents a major milestone in Ascent’s long-term partnership with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), supporting IAI’s growing Boeing 777-300ER passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversion program. The P2F initiative is widely viewed as the next generation replacement for aging Boeing 747 and 767 cargo fleets, especially as global e-commerce volumes continue to surge. Industry forecasts project a 4–5% annual increase in global air cargo demand over the next five years, pushing operators toward more fuel-efficient, high-payload wide-body freighters.

Ascent’s Marana facility is now the only non-OEM MRO location in North America certified and equipped to perform the extensive structural modifications required for the 777-300ER freighter conversion — a competitive advantage that positions Southern Arizona as a key hub for the global air-cargo supply chain.

A Major Economic Boost for Marana and Pima County

The new hangars will create more than 300 high-paying technical and engineering jobs, including A&P mechanics, avionics specialists, structural technicians, and program managers. Ascent currently employs more than 1,000 people across Arizona, and this expansion further cements Pinal Airpark as one of the state’s most crucial aerospace employment centers.

Construction on the new hangars began in 2023 and included significant upgrades to airfield infrastructure, specialized tooling, and docking equipment required for wide-body conversions. The hangars were designed to accommodate simultaneous heavy-maintenance lines, long-term storage, and passenger-to-freighter structural work — a strategic fit for Pinal Airpark, which has evolved into a nationally significant aircraft maintenance and storage hub.

Part of a Broader Growth Strategy

Ascent, backed by LongueVue Capital, has been in expansion mode for nearly a decade. The company added its first new Marana hangar in 2015, expanded engineering and storage operations in 2019–2021, and continues to invest heavily in wide-body capability. As global airlines retire older fleets and cargo operators seek more modern platforms, the company expects sustained demand for conversion and heavy-maintenance services through the next cycle.

“These new hangars give us the ability to meet rising global needs while anchoring hundreds of high-skill jobs here in Arizona,” the company stated during the launch.