Land has been purchased for construction of a pilot training facility that will go up to the west of the Denver International Airport.
United Airlines Incorporated has announced the acquisition of some 113 acres made up of currently undeveloped farmland to build the facility, a step that is being seen as another sign of the air carrier’s growing presence in Denver.
“This property gives us a lot of options,” United spokesperson Russell Carlton said in a statement announcing the acquisition.
Earlier this spring, the Chicago-based airliner announced that it was adding both new flights and gates at the biggest airport in Colorado.
In revealing its flight expansion plans this spring, Scott Kirby, chief executive officer of United, remarked that the company’s “expansion in Denver will further enable us to connect our customers to destinations across the globe and revitalize our presence at the airport with modern, customer-friendly offerings.”
A portion of the new United acreage is located at 1761 E. 64th Avenue, roughly 20 miles to the west of the main DIA terminal.
Not all of the site will be used for the new training facility. But, as noted by the publication Simple Flying, while United has not announced any further plans for the land in question, “the possibilities seem endless with that much space to play around with.”
United is the third largest airline in the world, judging by the size of its fleet and number of routes. Its presence in Denver, beginning in 1937, has become massive, comprising some 42% of the airport’s overall market share.
In the last two years, the Denver airport has become United’s largest hub, operating 468 flights a day. At the same time, United has emerged as the largest private employer in Denver, with a workforce in excess of 10,000 people.
United’s existing flight training center is located at 7500 E. 35th Avenue on a 23-acre campus dotted by seven buildings. That campus is thought to be the largest of its kind in the world.
By Garry Boulard
