A row of United Airlines passenger planes parked at gates at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado.
Robert Alexander | Getty Images
United Airlines plans to beef up its schedule and add latest lounges at Denver International Airport, the carrier’s bet that demand for flights at its fastest-growing hub will keep rising.
United said Tuesday that it would add 35 flights on the Colorado airport this yr. Latest nonstop routes include service to Greensboro, North Carolina; Dayton, Ohio; Lexington, Kentucky; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The airline’s Denver service this summer will average 450 every day departures, a spokeswoman said.
United was the airport’s largest carrier last yr with 46% market share, compared with Southwest Airlines‘ 31% share, Frontier Airlines with 10%, Delta Air Lines with 5% and American Airlines with 4%, in response to airport data.
But its latest service comes as shifting travel patterns through the pandemic are forcing airlines to rethink their networks and where to best deploy planes, that are in brief supply.
Airport passenger traffic expanded rapidly through the pandemic as town grew and travelers sought outdoor destinations amid restrictions geared toward stopping Covid-19 from spreading. Last yr, the Denver airport handled a record of greater than 69 million passengers, making it the world’s third busiest, up from sixteenth in 2019, in response to Airports Council International.
Compared, San Francisco, one other United hub, which enjoyed a company travel business before the pandemic, served 57.5 million passengers in 2019 and just 42.3 million last yr.
United can also be slated to open a latest lounge and reopen one among two large remodeled clubs the most recent sign of airlines scrambling to make room for scores of high-spending travelers.
Last yr, United opened a grab-and-go mini lounge at Denver geared toward travelers connecting to other flights.
