Denver International Airport, long ago the punchline to late-night TV jokes, has blossomed over the past decade into a thriving, world-renowned airport.
Even the critics who fought the idea of a new airport find themselves gushing over the stylish and easy-to-maneuver facility.
But are travelers saying something else?
DIA, ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the country by travelers for most of this decade, has suddenly dropped all the way to No. 15 out of 16 large U.S. airports in this year’s J.D. Power and Associates’ passenger-satisfaction survey.
The ranking has some officials scratching their heads.
“We’re doing the same things,” said airport spokesman Chuck Cannon, citing other surveys that indicate what they’re doing is working. DIA was named the best airport in North America in a survey by Business Traveler magazine earlier this year.
Eight factors were considered in the J.D. Power survey: airport accessibility, check-in/baggage check, security check, terminal facilities, food and beverage, retail services, baggage claim and immigration/customs control.
“A lot of that is beyond our control,” Cannon said. “Check-in and baggage, those are airline things, and security screening is a federal thing.
“We can control how clean the bathrooms are … but there’s just a lot of it that’s out of our hands.”
The perennial knock against DIA has been its location out on the prairie – a hefty cab fare from downtown Denver. But even that will change in the future when commuter rail chugs from downtown to DIA.
DIA officials hope this year’s survey is just be a statistical blip, and they expect to return to the top in 2007.
McCarran International in Las Vegas ranked highest in overall passenger satisfaction among large airports, while John F. Kennedy in New York and Philadelphia International tied for second.
Two weeks after the survey came out, however, there was more bad news for DIA.
Chunks of taxiway concrete are deteriorating decades before it should, and the two-year project to replace it will cost $30.6 million, according to a Rocky Mountain News story.
The airport is studying possible causes for the deterioration. It’s a huge safety issue.
But, other DIA indicators are brighter.
United Airlines parent, UAL Corp., said this past week that it expects to report $119 million in net income for its second quarter – its first truly profitable quarter since the second quarter of 2000.
That’s great news for DIA, considering how much the airport depends on the airline. United accounts for a majority of DIA’s passengers and nearly a third of the airport’s connecting traffic.
United attributed its gains to strong revenue growth, and the benefits of restructuring and cost controls. The airline filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and then slashed salaries, cut jobs, ended pension plans and eliminated flights in an effort to recover.
DIA has a vested interest in United’s continued health, but its gains shouldn’t overshadow the fact other airlines, after suffering post-Sept. 11, also are reporting profits this year, including Frontier, Denver’s second-largest carrier; new entrant Southwest; American; and Continental.
“Low fares equate to more people traveling,” Cannon told The Post. “All of that traffic equals more money for the airport.”
And, perhaps the best news for travelers, the addition of Southwest Airlines at DIA this year has lowered fares for some popular destinations, including Las Vegas, Chicago and Phoenix.
Lower fares for consumers and healthy airlines sounds like an unbeatable combination, as long as workers are treated fairly.
And it all adds up to a vibrant, 21st century airport and a great economic engine – surveys be damned.
