As airline competition intensifies at Denver International Airport into one of the most heated markets in the country, United Airlines’ senior vice president of planning, Kevin Knight, said United plans to maintain its position as the largest carrier at DIA.
Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines have both increased their market share at DIA, while United has made some cutbacks over time – such as cutting capacity this year.
Still, Knight said “going forward, we are committed to providing Denver customers with more services to more places more often than anybody else.”
United is the only carrier on 12 routes out of Denver, he said. However, some are the types of markets Frontier’s Lynx Aviation turboprop subsidiary under development is targeting.
Knight said United has about 80 percent of its network exposed to low-cost carrier competition, as much as “anyone out there.” Low-cost carrier competition “has obviously set the bar a little higher for all of us,” he said.
Speaking at a DIA Partnership luncheon Tuesday, Knight also said United won’t be flying a Denver-Asia route anytime soon. For technical reasons, United could only use its largest plane, the 747-400, on the route because of Denver’s altitude and hot summers and the length of the flight.
But the 747-400 for international service has 347 seats to fill, and “the economics, at this point, don’t work for us,” Knight said. He added that United will continue to look at it and “continue to look at ways that we can do it with our existing aircraft or other aircraft in the future. I think it’s more an issue of timing.”
DIA has been focusing its efforts on All Nippon Airways for a Japan flight and Air China for a China flight. ANA is a launch customer for the new Boeing 787, which would work for the route.
Knight also said United has not yet made a decision on starting a flight from Denver to London.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-954-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com.
