Written by David Shepardson and Rajesh Kumar Singh
(Reuters) – United Airlines said on Friday it is spending $33 million to buy 113 acres (46 hectares) in Denver as part of its growth strategy.
The Chicago-based airline said it plans to use “a portion of this land as a site for the expansion of its world-class pilot training facility in Denver.”
Asked if United could use the land to move its corporate headquarters, a spokeswoman for United said: “The land in Denver gives us options for the future as we implement our big plans for growth.”
United gets two packages, one of which is just outside Denver International Airport with access to the flight training center.
United added that it has “been in Chicago for decades and has thousands of employees here” and that the company has an urgent need to expand its flight training center.
“Moreover, any large corporation would be wise to take advantage of land purchase opportunities in their major cities when the opportunity arises – so we didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity in Denver,” the airline said.
In June 2022, United began construction of a new four-story building at the flight training facility. The airline says it is the largest employer in the Denver area, with about 10,000 employees and 400 more daily flights than Denver, the other largest airline.
If United exits Chicago, it will be a blow to Illinois, which has lost other corporate headquarters, including Boeing, which announced in May 2022 that it would move its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia.
Also last year, Caterpillar moved its global headquarters to a suburb of Dallas from the construction equipment maker’s century-old home in Deerfield, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
(Reporting by David Shepherdson and Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Mark Porter and Jonathan Otis)
