United Airlines Expands Pilot Training Facility with 40 New Simulators
United Airlines has added 40 new CAE flight simulators to its Denver Flight Training Center, expanding its training capabilities for pilots.
United Airlines has completed the first phase of an expansion at its Denver Flight Training Center, adding 40 new CAE flight simulators to the facility. The expansion includes a combination of full-motion flight simulators and fixed training devices, bringing the total number of full-motion simulators to 52 and fixed devices to 34.
Training Capacity
The Denver Flight Training Center is described as the largest pilot training facility in the world, covering 22 acres in Denver's Central Park neighborhood. The facility includes eight buildings and nearly 700,000 square feet of training space, allowing United to train up to 860 pilots per day and conduct over 32,000 training events annually.
The training center operates around the clock for 362 days each year, serving nearly 18,000 active pilots as well as newly hired flight crews. United pilots complete simulator sessions during initial qualification and return to Denver for recurrent training every nine months.
Simulator Details
The expansion reflects a long-standing partnership between United and CAE, with CAE President and CEO Matthew Bromberg stating that the company is proud to support United with the training technology, expertise, and reliability needed to prepare pilots at scale. The new simulators are part of a larger investment in the facility, which includes a new 150,000-square-foot building and over $145 million in funding.
| Simulator Type | Number |
|---|---|
| Full-motion simulators | 52 |
| Fixed training devices | 34 |
Future Expansion
United has invested $370 million in the campus since 2016 and is already preparing for another expansion near Denver International Airport. The airline has purchased two parcels of land and plans to begin construction on the next phase in 2027, with the goal of placing the additional training facility into operation by 2030. The new facility will operate alongside the existing Central Park campus, further expanding United's training capabilities for pilots.
The expansion is part of United's larger growth strategy, which includes hiring hundreds of new pilots. The airline has hired over 9,500 pilots since announcing its United Next growth strategy in 2021 and plans to hire hundreds more before the end of the year. United also operates its Aviate pilot career program and a pathway for active-duty US military pilots, with nearly 600 military pilots joining the airline since 2024.
