Consumers reaped immediate benefits from Southwest Airlines’ return to Denver, as Frontier and United unveiled promotional fares to protect their position as the big dogs at Denver International Airport.
The question remains, though, whether all three carriers can hold their own in the face of intense competition and relentless cost pressures. We’re confident they can and that the result will benefit Colorado’s economic picture.
United employs about 5,500 Coloradans and carries more than 55 percent of DIA traffic. Frontier has about 3,800 workers and 21 percent of the market. Southwest started out this week with just 40 workers servicing a modest number of flights. But showing some marketing flair, on its very first day of operations the carrier announced an upcoming expansion.
In the 1980s, Denver temporarily benefited from a three-way brawl among United, Continental and the old Frontier (no relation to today’s carrier), and from the presence of People’s Express, the low-cost guerrilla fighter of its day. For a time, airfares were relatively inexpensive and even encouraged Denver to build a new, larger airfield that became Denver International Airport. But industrywide economics drove Continental into bankruptcy (it survived) and totally tanked the old Frontier.
This time, we’re hoping for longer-term success: that Frontier stays financially healthy, that Southwest will find Denver hospitable and adds flights and destinations, and that United regains its feet after it emerges from bankruptcy this year. These carriers, and others which serve Denver, give Colorado an essential transportation backbone for both business and personal travel. Frontier is looking to add flights from Denver to Canada, the state’s largest trading partner.
Southwest’s debut at DIA is big news not just because of what it means for Colorado consumers, but also because it will help draw travelers and companies to our state. There’s merit in the air travel industry’s adage: In in this day and age, the most important highway in any major city is a runway.
Indeed, affordable and reliable air service is so crucial to Colorado’s future that Gov. Bill Owens and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper have had Frontier and United executives accompany them on out-of-state economic development missions. We hope Southwest joins such future efforts.
To flourish, the airlines must grapple with factors that are only partly in their control – especially fuel costs that drag down the bottom line.
