United completes first phase of Denver pilot training expansion

United Airlines has completed the first phase of an expansion project at its Flight Training Center in Denver, adding 40 new CAE flight training devices to the facility, according to the airline.

The 22-acre campus now comprises eight buildings and nearly 700,000 square feet of training space, housing a total of 86 CAE training devices, of which 52 are full-motion flight simulators and 34 are fixed-base devices, United said.

With the added equipment, the airline said the center can now accommodate up to 860 pilots per day, amounting to roughly 32,000 training sessions annually. The facility is United's sole pilot training site, and the airline said all of its approximately 18,000 current and newly hired pilots train there, both during initial qualification and in recurring simulator sessions required every nine months to maintain certification.

United CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement that the pace of the project reflected the carrier's commitment to high standards through continued investment.

The airline said the next phase of the expansion involves developing land it purchased near Denver International Airport in 2023, where it plans to build an additional flight training center. United said it expects to break ground on that project, though it did not specify an exact timeline.