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DIA - nation's 4th-busiest

Airport records more boardings from Jan. through June than L.A.

Chris Walsh, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 14, 2007 at midnight

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Sure, Los Angeles ranks up there with some of the top tourism and convention cities in the world.

But its main airport took a back seat to Denver's during the first six months of the year.

DIA edged past its counterpart in Los Angeles, known as LAX, to rank as the nation's fourth-busiest airport from January through June, a testament to its continuing growth.

Denver International Airport recorded 11.65 million plane boardings during that span, a 4.4 percent increase compared with the same period in 2006, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. It topped Los Angeles International Airport by just 10,000 passengers - a fraction of a percent.

"That's quite an endorsement for the airport," said Darryl Jenkins, a Virginia-based airline consultant. "I am quite frankly surprised that it's busier than (LAX). I think you have Frontier and Southwest pumping up your numbers."

Denver's airport typically ranks as the fifth-busiest in the nation. In 2005, though, it slipped to sixth - not because it didn't grow but because McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas expanded faster.

Passenger traffic at DIA has surged since last year, fueled by additional flights from Frontier Airlines and the arrival of Southwest Airlines. The competition in Denver has helped lower fares, luring more leisure travelers. The city also has seen a surge in business visitors, in part because of the recent Colorado Convention Center expansion.

In 2006, overnight visitor numbers increased 13 percent. This year is shaping up to be strong as well.

"It's hard to get a handle on leisure numbers so far this year, but we're definitely in the midst of our best convention year ever," said Rich Grant, spokesman for the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.

It remains to be seen whether DIA can hold onto the No. 4 spot for the rest of the year. For June, it slipped slightly below Los Angeles.

"We have the competition and relatively low fares and a pretty good economy, so I think it's all of those things combined," said DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon. "I don't know if we'll finish higher than L.A. We'll see how it turns out at end of year. Who knows? Stranger things have happened."

Atlanta's airport ranked as the nation's busiest, with nearly 21 million passengers during the first half of the year. Chicago O'Hare and Dallas-Fort Worth ranked second and third, respectively.

The federal data, released Thursday, also show that the number of passengers flying nationwide rose 2.7 percent. Southwest Airlines wrested the No. 1 spot from American Airlines to become the largest airline in terms of boardings. United Airlines, Denver's largest carrier, ranked fourth.

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