Why United Airlines Invested $1 Billion In Denver Airport

While airline stocks have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, passengers have returned in record breaking numbers. 2023 was Denver International airport’s busiest year on record, with an estimated 78 million passengers for the year. The airport, which opened in 1995, was originally built to handle 50 million passengers per year, but now that number is expected to reach over 100 million per year by 2027, according to DIA estimates. OAG, a global travel data provider, said Denver went from the 21st busiest airport in the world in 2019 to the 6th in 2023. United Airlines is Denver’s biggest operator with 46.7% market share, followed by Southwest 30.7% and Frontier 9.7%. The mid-continent airport has become the United’s busiest hub. It recently invested nearly $1 billion in Denver to add more gates, flights, destinations and opened the largest lounge in its network. The airline wants to grow to 650 flights a day before 2030. CNBC got a behind the scenes look at United’s Denver operations and explores how the airport and airline plan to keep up with the demand. Chapters: 1:26 Airport growth 4:09 United Airlines 7:44 The future Produced, shot and edited by: Erin Black Animation: Christina Locopo Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt Editorial Support: Leslie Josephs