Southwest Airlines launched its first flights out of Denver International Airport on Tuesday with a celebration and an announcement that more aggressive expansion is ahead.
Southwest has plans to add more employees here as early as March; secure a third gate at DIA that could handle as many as 10 more daily departures; and consider an expansion of the C concourse that would pave the way for long-term growth.
Southwest has asked for a third gate on the C concourse in March. Lease details have not been determined.
“Typically when we start in a market, we don’t sit still. We try to grow,” said Southwest chief executive Gary Kelly. He said announcing the expansion on the same day Southwest launched service here is “a testament to Southwest Airlines’ low-fare leadership and our commitment to Denver.”
On the first day of Southwest’s 13 daily flights to Phoenix, Las Vegas and Chicago, Mayor John Hickenlooper and airport co- managers Vicki Braunagel and Turner West sat in airplane seats on a stage while they waited for their turn to welcome the airline.
“You can’t really say you’re a first-tier major airport city without having Southwest in your city,” Hickenlooper told a crowd of several hundred.
West said he will need some new New Year’s resolutions.
“For the last 10 years, I’ve been putting down, ‘Let’s get Southwest into Denver,”‘ he said. “We’ve finally done it.”
Also on Tuesday, Southwest began selling $198 round-trip tickets to Baltimore and $98 round-trip tickets to Salt Lake City. Those new flights from Denver are scheduled to start March 4. The airline also added another daily nonstop flight to the Phoenix and Las Vegas routes.
Frontier Airlines chief executive Jeff Potter responded, “They flew in this morning, and guess what? We’re all still here.”
Frontier, which is based in Denver, has a lot more at stake here than Southwest does, Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas said. The carrier will match Southwest fares, he said, “and in some cases, once their promotional fares are over, perhaps they’ll be matching our fares.”
Frontier expects double-digit growth this year and has plans to add at least 200 positions.
United Airlines on Tuesday launched an aggressive advertising campaign “to show our Denver customers how United is different and far superior than our competition,” said United spokesman Jeff Green. The ads will highlight United’s number of nonstop flights, assigned seats and first-class and economy-plus seating.
One ad reads, “With Southwest, you are kinda, sorta free to move about a few places in the country nonstop.”
By March, Southwest will offer 20 daily flights from DIA to five U.S. cities, but some significant gaps still exist. Kelly pointed to key “nonstop opportunities” in routes to Florida, Texas and California, where the airline has a large presence.
Southwest started as a Texas airline in the 1970s and remains a large presence there, but Denver has no connecting or nonstop flights to Texas. That’s a link Denver economic-development officials are interested in developing for business travel.
“I think they’ve got very high hopes for expanding in Denver,” said Terry Trippler, airline analyst with CheapSeats.com.
“Denver’s a real battleground for them,” Trippler said. “The interesting thing would be to watch (Southwest’s) fares throughout the year. Will they keep those (low promotional) fares?”
Denver bookings on Southwest have been strong.
“The loads look very good, and we’re extremely pleased with the response to our service,” said Southwest spokeswoman Paula Berg.
Frontier’s bookings on routes Southwest flies also “look great,” Hodas said, in part because matching lower introductory fares can stimulate more people to fly. Southwest’s entrance into the Denver market also increases the visibility of flights to those cities.
At a special meeting at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Kelly discussed Southwest’s desire to be a community partner in Denver.
“We’ve had a phenomenally close relationship with Frontier and United,” said chamber chief executive Joe Blake, “and we look forward to that same type of relationship” with Southwest.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-820-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com.
What’s next for Denver travelers?
Airfare sales should continue during the slow, post-holiday season.
United Airlines is offering $248 round trips between Chicago and Denver between Jan. 10 and March 8, for example.
Frontier Airlines will get seven new planes this year and will expand its service to several new cities, potentially in Canada.
United Airlines is poised to exit bankruptcy in February and is expected to become a strong industry player again.
Southwest Airlines plans to keep adding flights.
ATA is leaving Denver effective Jan. 10.
