Southwest plans for DIA growth
Article Last Updated: 1/01/2006 02:20 AM
Southwest carries plans for DIA growth
By Kelly Yamanouchi
Denver Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com
When Southwest Airlines comes to Denver on Tuesday, it will offer 13 daily nonstop flights to and from Chicago, Las Vegas and Phoenix. That's small potatoes at an airport that hosts more than 500 departures a day, but Southwest has plans to grow.
"If we could double from 13 to 26 (departures a day), I think that would be a real healthy sign in a year," Southwest's chief executive Gary Kelly said in October.
Could that happen?
It's anybody's guess, Kelly admitted, but Southwest is known for some unprecedented successes. Counting Denver, it flies to 62 cities, and at some, it has a major presence.
At Las Vegas, for example, it makes more than 200 daily departures. In contrast, it has only 15 a day at Omaha. But its growth in Philadelphia has become almost legendary.
The carrier began there with 14 flights in May 2004. "We quickly added 14 more," Kelly said, "and we quickly added 14 more again." Just 18 months later, it is Philadelphia's No. 2 carrier with 53 daily departures.
Overall traffic at the airport also has grown and fares have dropped, a phenomenon that has come to be known as "the Southwest effect."
"We grew more quickly than we had in any other city," said Southwest spokeswoman Paula Berg. "All the stars were lined up for that kind of outcome."
Kelly agrees, calling the Philadelphia growth "the fastest ramp-up of flight activity we've ever had. It seems unlikely that we would grow that fast here in Denver."
Another model for local growth is Pittsburgh, where Southwest started with 10 daily departures in May and now offers 19."It is very simply a function of the demand," Kelly said. "If the demand is there, we will want to add flights quickly."
When it does, Denver International Airport wants to be ready. Airport officials already have plans to build two temporary gates on the C concourse for $8 million to $10 million. Those gates are not yet designated for any carrier, but they're near Southwest's two existing gates on the C concourse.
Southwest's use and facilities lease agreement promises to bring nearly $5.3 million a year to the airport, and its cargo space lease will bring another $87,580 a year.
The airport also expects an extra 1.5 million passengers in 2006 who could bring an additional $10 million to $15 million in revenue from such things as concessions and parking. The airport credits the increase to Southwest's entry and the traffic it will stimulate on other airlines.
DIA rivals United and Frontier Airlines matched Southwest fares on some competing routes in October, lowering round-trip prices by as much as $60.