Denver International Airport is amending its long-term lease with United Airlines in a way that will return five of United’s gates in Concourse B to the airport for six years in exchange for DIA’s payment of $12.5 million to United.
DIA plans to lease the B gates to US Airways and Continental Airlines, airport deputy manager Patrick Heck told Denver City Council members Wednesday.
Heck sought and won support from the council’s economic-development committee for the deal, which he said will give DIA some breathing room as it weighs adding gate capacity.
In addition to getting the one-time payment of $12.5 million, United is expected to save at least $15 million over the six years from not having to make lease payments on the gates, Heck said.
Lori Fox, a government-relations official for United, said the lease transaction “allows us to use our current assets more efficiently.”
Early next year, Continental will vacate its three gates on Concourse A and move to three on the west end of B, Heck said. Similarly, US Airways will depart its two gates on Concourse C and move to two B gates across from Continental.
“We are gate-constrained,” Heck told council members, referring to DIA’s current status of having only two gates not assigned to airlines among the 92 gates on its three concourses.
The airport is “looking for ways to increase capacity” without committing to spending as much as $175 million on a full-fledged 10-gate concourse expansion, he added.
DIA is working on designs for such an expansion to either the east end of C or the west end of A. Heck said getting the two spare gates on C from US Airways and three spares on A that Continental will give up gives the airport “time to make a decision on whether to build the gates.”
Southwest Airlines has been steadily taking on more capacity on C for its expanding operation, and the gates that US Airways is leaving might be picked up by Southwest or other carriers, Heck told council members.
He also noted that the move of US Airways and Continental to B is a good fit since both carriers are members of the Star Alliance, of which United is a dominant and longtime member.
