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Pair of high flyers

DIA traffic set record in 2005

Chris Walsh, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 3, 2006 at midnight

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Let the good times roll . . . er, soar.

Denver International Airport, already reveling in the arrival of Southwest Airlines last month and the emergence of United Airlines from bankruptcy this week, recorded its busiest year ever in 2005.

The airport said Thursday that 43.4 million travelers passed through DIA last year, a 2.6 percent increase over the previous record of 42.3 million in 2004. The numbers include all passengers on arriving and departing flights.

The increase comes against a backdrop of low fares and a growing national economy. The Denver area also continues to create jobs and attract new residents, naturally generating higher passenger traffic.

"The economy is strong, and people are not only taking vacations, but businesses also are sending more folks out on trips," said DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon. "Also, I think it has to do with competition in the airline market. There are some really good fares out there."

Although average ticket prices rose last year, fares remain low by historical standards, and airlines continue to offer plenty of sales and last-minute deals. In Denver, intense competition between giant United Airlines and homegrown Frontier Airlines has helped keep fares down.

Those two airlines went in opposite directions in terms of market share at DIA.

United's share, including its Ted flights and regional service, fell to 56 percent in 2005 compared with 59 percent in 2004. United has been scaling back on domestic flights in recent years as it battled through bankruptcy and reorganized its business.

Frontier, however, increased its market share to 19 percent, compared with 17 percent a year prior. That came on an 8 percent increase in capacity.

DIA's overall passenger growth comes as little surprise: The airport posted individual monthly passenger traffic records 10 times in 2005. That trend continued in December. DIA set a record for the month with 3,546,529 passengers, a 1.5 percent increase from December 2004.

During the first nine months of the year - the latest financial statistics available - DIA's operating revenues grew 2.5 percent to $381.7 million compared with a year earlier. At the same time, DIA also saw its costs rise by about $9 million.

City leaders say the airport's growth benefits the region as a whole because it will help boost development and bring new businesses to town.

"I think it becomes a powerful catalyst for the economy, not just around DIA but really for the region," said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.

And more visitors boost the local economy because they spend money on rental cars, hotels and food.

Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., said the traffic increase last year at DIA created an economic impact in the region of "well over" $100 million.

On the downside, the amount of cargo DIA handled in 2005 fell 2.4 percent, to 682,830,439 pounds.

And DIA could lose its status as the nation's fifth-busiest airport.

Through the first nine months of 2005 - the latest available nationwide data - DIA ranked sixth, about 400,000 passengers behind McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Still, 2006 could shape up to be another strong year for DIA overall.

Frontier will bring on six more planes in 2006, and United has promised to route more connecting traffic through Denver. Then there's the potential impact of Southwest, which began flying from Denver last month. The airline typically lowers fares enough when it enters a new market to stimulate an increase in the number of people flying. DIA officials estimate Southwest's arrival will boost traffic by about 1.5 million passengers a year.