DULLES, Va., Oct. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines today broke ground on its first widebody aircraft maintenance hangar at Washington Dulles International Airport, a major United hub and the airline's principal gateway to the Middle East. United expects to complete construction of the hangar in fall 2013.
United is investing nearly $45 million in the construction of the 125,000 square foot hangar, which will enable the airline to perform maintenance simultaneously on two widebody airplanes. United employs nearly 300 technical operations workers at Washington Dulles, with more than 6,000 employees throughout the Washington area.
"Construction of this facility underscores United's investment in our people, our customers, the Washington region and the Virginia economy," said Kate Gebo, United's vice president of corporate real estate. "With ongoing investments in terminal amenities, gate areas, lounges and employee facilities, United continues to shape Dulles into a modern global gateway for customers and United co-workers."
More than 200 area construction workers will build the facility.
"Since Dulles International Airport opened almost 50 years ago, it has grown into a world-class hub for domestic and international air service," said John E. Potter, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. "United has been a major partner in that growth since nearly the beginning. We look forward to the new opportunities that partnership will bring in the years to come."
United maintains maintenance hangars at its hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles and is currently constructing a new widebody hangar at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Investing in Washington Dulles
Since 2010, United has introduced service from Washington Dulles to key international and domestic markets, including one-stop service to the Kingdom of Bahrain and to Doha, Qatar, via the airline's existing nonstop services to Kuwait and Dubai.
United has also introduced service from Washington to Dublin, Manchester, U.K., and Honolulu. Later this year, United will begin service from Washington to San Salvador and Fort Lauderdale. The airline will launch service to Fayetteville, N.C. in early 2013.
About United
United Airlines and United Express operate an average of 5,557 flights a day to 378 airports on six continents from our hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. In 2011, United carried more traffic than any other airline in the world, and operated more than two million flights carrying 142 million passengers. United is upgrading its cabins with more flat-bed seats in first and business class and more extra-legroom economy-class seating than any other airline in North America. United operates nearly 700 mainline aircraft and has orders for more than 270 new aircraft deliveries through 2022, including 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 25 Airbus A350XWBs, and 100 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft. United was rated the world's most admired airline on FORTUNE magazine's 2012 airline-industry list of the World's Most Admired Companies. Readers of Global Traveler magazine have voted United's MileagePlus program the best frequent flyer program for eight consecutive years. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 27 member airlines. More than 88,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world. For more information, visit united.com or follow United on Twitter and Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.
SOURCE United Continental Holdings, Inc.
