United Airlines Completes Major Expansion of Its Flight Center.

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 1998--United Airlines has completed a major expansion of its Flight Center in Denver. The expansion dramatically increases the number of commercial aviation pilots it can enroll in its widely acclaimed pilot and crew training programs.

The Flight Center, which is the largest in the world, has increased the number of simulator bays from 26 to 36 and has also increased ground training classrooms, briefing rooms, and has installed additional new flight training devices.

The multi-million dollar expansion was undertaken to both accommodate the company's plan to continue acquiring modern aircraft and to support the requirements of more than 200 customer airlines using the Flight Center. The equipment used for training now represents an investment of over $250 million (U.S.).

The Flight Center currently employs over 1,000 people, including instructors and staff support employees, flight simulator technicians, engineers, and test pilots. It also lays claim to having the most instructors in the industry: over 600 pilot instructors, training check airmen and standards captains and academic instructors to conduct simulator training, flight training and proficiency checking.

According to J.D. Whitlatch, vice president, Flight Standards and Training, the expansion meets the demands of the fast-growing airline industry for more pilots and crews. "United has always assumed a leadership position when it comes to pilot and crew training," Whitlatch said.

"With our airline's rapid growth and demand soaring from other airlines, we are now in a better position to meet the company's needs and to extend our experience and capabilities to airlines throughout the world."

United's approach to commercial pilot training is based on an investment in state-of-the-art training technology to improve proficiency, while driving down costs, Scott Brennan, director of Flight Training Services notes. "By using innovative tools each step of the way, trainees perfect the 'basics' before going to the next level. This avoids spending too much time in expensive full-flight simulators and results in better, more efficient learning and lower overall training costs."

Training aids such as the CMTs (Cockpit Mock-up Trainer), CPTs (Cockpit Procedures Trainer), AFTs (Auto Flight Trainer) & AFSs (Auto Flight Simulator) are extensively used. Students can also take advantage of the library resources in the Learning Center, open 24 hours a day. It is equipped with slide/tape and CD-ROM training programs and video tapes, allowing trainees to review a wide range of subjects such as aircraft systems, windshear, TCAS, cold weather operations, international airport qualifications, and other elements of airline operation.

The Flight Center makes extensive use of fixed base simulators to accurately and cost-effectively reproduce a specific aircraft cockpit. Training in these simulators is a very effective method for learning new, sophisticated flight management systems.

Training in one of the full flight simulators can duplicate many hazardous cockpit and emergency operational conditions from weather-related anomalies such as snow, fog, windshear, turbulence, and icing conditions to aircraft systems malfunctions including engine fires or failures, rapid cabin depressurization, navigation instrument failure, flight instrument failure, flight control failure or landing gear failure. These advanced devices realistically and accurately reproduce motion and instrument simulation for all normal and abnormal phases of flight, both day and night.

In addition to providing comprehensive training for pilots, the Flight Center also provides flight attendant training in every phase of emergency procedures (initial, transition, and recurrent). Realizing that total crew coordination is critical in case of emergency, the center has built full-size, wide-body mock-ups to facilitate "real-event" evacuation training. In these trainers, flight crews can be exposed to and prepared for emergency situations such as in-flight fire, emergency evacuation, ditching, land and sea survival, and deployment of flotation devices.

UAL Services (www.kinggroup.com/pr/airliance) offers a comprehensive network of airline support services capabilities throughout the world. Founded in 1995, UAL Services is a division of United Airlines, the world's largest passenger air carrier. The division has headquarters in San Francisco, and has quickly grown to be a leader in providing customers full support in all areas of operations, including flight training, line and heavy maintenance, airport services, materials loans and borrows, asset management and business services.

For more information, or to arrange an interview, contact Mike King, King Group Public Relations, telephone [phone], fax [phone], email: [e-mail].

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