United Airlines has opened its newly refurbished and expanded Houston inflight training centre. At a cost of US$32 million (£26 million) the now 56,000 ft² facility more than doubles the existing training premises and will enable the carrier to remain on track to hire 15,000 new staff, including 4,000 flight attendants, in 2023.
The new facility includes additional classroom and training spaces, cabin and door trainers and a state-of-the-art aquatic centre where the safe evacuation of a plane in the event of an unlikely water landing can be practiced. In addition, the campus now includes inflight service training spaces with mock seats, a 400+-seat auditorium and a public address room where trainees can practice their onboard announcements.
United has included an underground pre-fabricated storm detention vault that can hold more than 268,000 gallons of water and store storm water runoff in large underground pipes or vaults.
It is United’s intention to train 600 new flight attendants every month whereby they will undergo a six and a half-week course followed by a refresher course every eighteen months for their qualifications to remain up to date. United has operated for more than 70 years from its hub at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and is one of the largest employers with over 11,000 local employees and plans to hire 1,800 more in 2023.
