United has added 40 new CAE flight training devices at its sprawling pilot training facility in Denver.
The airline announced Thursday that it has completed phase one of an ongoing project to expand and improve the facility, known as the Flight Training Center. The 22-acre campus now has eight buildings, nearly 700,000 square feet of training space, and a total of 86 CAE training devices. Of those units, 52 are full-motion flight simulators, and 34 are fixed training devices.
United officials said that, with the new devices, the Flight Training Center can train up to 860 pilots per day, for a total of around 32,000 “training events” annually.
The center is United’s only training facility, and all of the carrier’s roughly 18,000 current and newly hired pilots have or will undergo training there.
“United pilots are the best aviators in the world, and the pace at which our team has completed this project is an example of making investments that support our high standard of excellence,” United CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement.
All United pilots complete simulator training with pilot instructors and evaluators during their initial qualification process, then every nine months after to maintain their certifications.
The next phase of the expansion project involves the development of property United purchased in 2023 near Denver International Airport. The airline said it is planning to build an “additional flight training center” on the land, and expects to break ground in 2027. The site should be up and running by 2030, and will operate in conjunction with the current Flight Training Center, United added.
The airline hired over 1,400 people in Denver last year, and plans to bring on about 1,300 more this year.
