United Airlines is considering a cost-saving consolidation of pilot-training centers in Houston and Denver that predate its 2010 merger, potentially setting up a contest among those cities plus Chicago for any surviving facility.
The move is under discussion with pilots, about 12,000 of whom cycle through the bases every nine months to refresh their skills and train on flight simulators, said Megan McCar thy, a United spokeswoman.
Bringing the Denver and Houston operations together into one site would require moving equipment and people and deliver a local economic boost from visiting pilots. Chicago, where United is based, joins the two existing sites as a possible home for a combined facility, McCarthy said, without elaborating.
“Losing this training center — whichever city loses it would lose a significant amount of revenue,” said G.W. “Bo” Corby, a consultant with Future & Active Pilot Advisors.
Denver’s Office of Economic Development is “working diligently to see United expand its operations,” executive director Paul Washington said by e-mail, without giving details.
The centers in Denver and Houston are vestiges of the days before the 2010 merger between former United parent UAL Corp. and Continental Airlines.
“We need to move to a single training facility for various reasons,” McCarthy said. “Yes, cost is a factor, but we need to bring our pilots together.”
United operates the Houston training facility at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and the Denver outpost is on the grounds of the shuttered Stapleton International Airport.
