United Airlines Completes First Expansion Phase of Its Denver Flight Training Center: The World’s Largest
United Airlines and aviation simulation and training specialist CAE formally celebrated the completion of the first expansion phase at United’s Flight Training Center, recognized as the world’s largest pilot training facility. Since the project launched in 2022, the airline has integrated 40 new CAE-supplied training devices, combining full-flight simulators and flight training devices.
Located in Central Park, Denver, Colorado, the complex spans 22 acres (approximately 8.9 hectares). Following the recent development, the site features eight main buildings totaling nearly 700,000 square feet of training space—equivalent to 12 American football fields.
Technical Capacity and Training Infrastructure
United’s Flight Training Center operates around the clock, 24 hours a day, 362 days a year. It serves as the single training venue for the airline’s nearly 18,000 active pilots and all newly hired flight crew members.
Key Facility Metrics:
- CAE Training Devices: 86 total (52 state-of-the-art full-flight simulators and 34 fixed flight training devices).
- Daily Training Capacity: Up to 860 pilots per day.
- Operational Volume: Over 32,000 annual training events.
- Recurrent Training Standards: All aviators undergo intensive simulator instruction with instructors and evaluators during initial qualification, and every nine months thereafter to maintain active certification.
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“United pilots are the finest aviators in the world, and the speed at which our team executed this project showcases how strategic investments directly reinforce our high standard of excellence,” stated Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines.
Matthew Bromberg, President and CEO of CAE, emphasized the strategic partnership between the two companies:
“This expansion underscores the strength of a partnership built over more than four decades. We are proud to support United with the advanced training technology, expertise, and reliability required to train pilots at scale.”
Phase Two Expansion Plans: Horizon 2030
In July 2026, the Denver City Council approved the airline’s rezoning application for two undeveloped land parcels near Denver International Airport—property originally acquired in 2023.
The carrier has initiated formal facility design plans and expects to break ground on the Phase Two expansion at the new site in 2027, with full operational status targeted for 2030. This additional infrastructure will function seamlessly alongside the existing Central Park campus.
Pilot Recruitment Strategy and Career Pathways
Since launching the United Next strategic growth plan in 2021, the airline has hired more than 9,500 aviators. So far in 2026, it has added 700 pilots, with plans to recruit hundreds more before year-end. To crew North America’s largest widebody fleet, the airline structures its talent pipeline across four primary pathways:
- Direct-Hire First Officer: Tailored for experienced aviators meeting immediate operational requirements.
- Aviate Program: The career development pathway for both aspiring and established pilots.
- United Aviate Academy: The airline’s wholly owned flight school based in Goodyear, Arizona.
- United Military Pilot Program: An initiative launched in September 2023 offering conditional First Officer employment offers to full-time active-duty U.S. military pilots. Nearly 600 military aviators have joined via this pipeline since 2024, with projections to add 500 more by year-end 2027. Military veterans currently account for 4,500 of the airline’s nearly 18,000 pilots.
With the first expansion phase complete and Phase Two construction slated for 2027, United Airlines continues to solidify its instructional and logistical footprint in Denver.
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Un apasionado por la aviación, Fundador y CEO de Aviación al Día.