Denver International Airport seems more crowded all the time. Ever wonder why?
One reason is more people are starting or ending flights at DIA, not just connecting through it.
That means instead of staying on the concourses, travelers are streaming through the terminal, airport trains and security lines.
DIA was built with the expectation that connecting passengers would make up about 60 percent of visitors, said Rick Busch, DIA’s director of planning. But that share is now about 41 percent, down from about 45 percent in 2000.
About 47.3 million passengers used DIA last year. The airport is designed for 50 million passengers a year, though it can expand well beyond that.
Now, in the airport terminal and the surrounding infrastructure, “we’re already exceeding capacity for the original design,” Busch said.
Connecting passengers often stay on their own concourse and don’t venture to the terminal or outside of the airport.
“I’d rather connect (at DIA) than start here. … You’re avoiding all the lines here,” said Valerie Smith, who lives in Tucson and traveled through Denver for a connecting flight to Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday.
The increased share of passengers go – ing to or from Denver means more people using the terminal, roads and parking around the airport.
“The crowds continue to get worse,” said Connie Williams, a traveler from Littleton. “Now when you have to go to the airport, it’s like a dread. It’s not like it used to be.”
Changes in airline dynamics – including the rise of low-cost carriers such as Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines – have affected the makeup of airline passengers.
Southwest, which started flying at DIA in 2006, has contributed to the increase in passengers traveling to Denver, said Evergreen aviation consultant Mike Boyd.
Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said that when the airline enters an airport, it first targets origin and destination traffic, and over time connecting traffic grows because of the timing of departures and arrivals.
“We’ve had an outstanding response from customers wanting to go to and from the Denver area,” said King.
Southwest has about 5 percent market share at DIA.
Frontier Airlines, which is based out of DIA, also has grown dramatically, increasing its domestic market share at DIA to 20 percent. A sizable percentage of Frontier’s passengers start and end their flights in Denver.
Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas said origin and destination traffic generates higher yields than connecting traffic.
Connecting traffic helps to fill planes, but “it’s not a bad thing to have a lot of local traffic,” he said.
More people traveling to and from Denver signals economic strength.
The greater share of passengers starting or ending their trips in Denver also means more revenue for the airport through parking, car rentals and other sources.
“Parking is a mess,” Boyd said, but “it also means more revenue for the airport.”
United Airlines is the biggest source of connecting passengers at DIA, with its second-largest hub here. But its market share has shrunk at DIA from about 64 percent to 44 percent.
As part of a 2005 deal, United pledged to gradually boost the number of connecting passengers the airline moves through DIA – a move aimed at preventing United from diminishing the importance of the Denver hub in the United system.
DIA projects growth of 31 percent in commercial passenger traffic between 2006 and 2015.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-954-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com.
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47.3 million
fliers used DIA last year. The airport is designed for 50 million passengers a year, though it can expand well beyond that.
