EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | Denver International Airport

Denver International Airport is an airport of great potential, and the future for it is looking quite interesting, however, its current situation is still situated at a time of slow growth. Norweigian Air International, a long-haul, low cost airline, recently opened a new, unserved route to Paris from Denver International. Asia is also a currently untapped market, excluding Uniteds' flight to Tokyo, however the future is looking good, and flights to Asia from Denver are said to become a key route for airlines.

To know more about the subject and get the opinion from someone who lives in Denver, Dillon Shah interviewed Jackson, a high school student with a passion for aviation. Although he may not be of high seniority in the aviation world, he gave us a clear idea of what many people from Denver want to see.

AviationCult: 'What Airlines would you like to see expand or open new routes to and from Denver? Why?'

Jackson: 'I would like to see more international routes out of Denver whether that be from United [airlines] or other international carriers. Norwegian can only do so much and the only other route I can see them opening would be a seasonal Barcelona [to Denver] route or maybe a Rome [to Denver] route. The only big carriers that I could see flying in to Denver would be the Star Alliance airlines. We only have one flight to Asia currently and that is another huge market. If United doesn't open up anything for the next 2 or so years to Asia I feel like star alliance asian carriers like Air China and Asiana [airlines] will open a few [routes]'

AviationCult: 'You have only got the Tokyo route am I right?'

Jackson: '[yes] United flies a 787-8 to Tokyo daily'

AviationCult: 'Although you already talked about this partly, what routes would you like to see opened to and from Denver? Why?'

Jackson: 'Like I said before anything international. I think a Barcelona and Rome flight would be cool but Norwegian has to expand their fleet before they can start those routes. Then for Asia I think the airlines would have to look at where most of the business travelers go. I also could see Emirates opening up a Dubai [to Denver] route once their 787[-10] order is delivered. The A350 will be super important in which airlines open routes just because it's not too big but still has the range to get here. Whichever airlines start ordering a ton of a350s I wouldn't be surprised if they opened a Denver route soon after.'

AviationCult: 'What do you think about Denver airport in general? -Does the airport seem crowded and is there room for expansion? How many new destinations do you think Denver will see in the coming decade?

Jackson: 'It's starting to get a bit crowded but there is so much room for expansion. The airport has 53 sq miles of land and is shown as it's own county on the weather maps. The plan for when they built it was that it would be the last new airport Denver would ever need. By the time they run out of room the airport would have 13 different runways and 7 concourses. Currently there are 6 runways and 3 concourses that haven't been extended to max length yet!'

AviationCult: 'What do you like the most about Denver Airport as a traveller?

Jackson: 'Denver's perfect for regional flights because no part of the country is more than 3 hours away and there's a direct flight to almost everywhere in the United States but for international flights it's ok; you'll probably have to connect but most of the time airlines will have you connect in an American city on the east or west coast rather than connect internationally.'

AviationCult: 'What do you think the future is for Denver airport?'

Jackson: 'I think it's gonna slowly expand but not much faster than it is currently. Just because of the geography it will always remain more of a regional airport but I think within 5 years we'll have flights to most major international cities'

Although Denver International may remain a regional airport, the airport will slowly expand and may become a major hub, especially for connecting travellers coming from an international airport to another regional airport in America. United is taking advantage of this, and by having a Tokyo flight in addition to an extensive regional network, travellers will find it easier and more comfortable to travel to Denver rather than New York JFK or Los Angeles Airport which are both crowded unlike Denver.

AviationCult would like to thank Dillon Shah and Jackson (Instagram= @ifdaily) for their support in writing this article.