As Frontier Airlines prepares for growth, it is negotiating for maintenance-hangar space at Denver International Airport.
Frontier leases a large portion of Continental Airlines’ hangar for heavy maintenance and some line maintenance. Continential built the hangar while planning a large presence at DIA. The carrier closed its Denver hub in 1994 before the airport opened. Frontier’s sublease expires in February 2007.
Continental is in discussions with Frontier to renew the lease, but if they fail, “we will test the market’s interest in leasing the whole facility,” Continental spokesman Dave Mes sing said.
Potential lessors could be other airlines or maintenance companies that serve airlines.
Frontier has for years been considering building its own maintenance hangar. It “would just be more logical,” Frontier spokesman Andrew Hudson said.
“We’ve looked at DIA as one potential spot for that to go,” he said. “There’s other airports around the country that we’d be looking at.”
Frontier’s growth is in part tied to whether or not the airline could build the hangar at DIA, Hudson said. If Frontier fails to procure a new facility in a timely fashion, it may have to outsource some or all of its maintenance work, the carrier said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Frontier has also expressed interest in additional gates at DIA because it is running out of room to expand.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-820-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com.
