As vice president of United Airlines’ team at Denver International Airport and a Colorado native, I am incredibly proud of our latest milestone here in the Mile High City.
This morning, United CEO Oscar Munoz and Mayor Michael B. Hancock will sign an agreement to increase our footprint at Denver International by 24 gates over the next two years.
Denver is our fastest-growing hub and a focal point of our efforts to expand United’s unmatched route network – one that connects Coloradans to more places than any other airline in the world.
This means easier opportunities to go to more destinations, both domestically and internationally, than ever before. Last year alone we introduced service to Frankfurt, added direct flights to London and surpassed 500 daily departures – a record for United in Denver.
And now, thanks to overwhelming support from the city, community leaders and our customers here in Denver, United will be able to offer more opportunities than ever for our customers to get to that important business meeting, family wedding or home to loved ones.
Just four years ago, United was operating approximately 400 flights from Denver. Since then, that number has climbed 22% and could reach as high as 700 daily flights by 2025 – growth that will continue to be fueled in large part by local demand for domestic and international service. Take our highly successful London, Frankfurt and Tokyo flights, for instance.
In June, United will start flying larger aircraft – the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner – on these routes, adding nearly 100 daily seats each way to these popular destinations.
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Additionally, with more than 4,000 premium seats available on United, our customers have the most options to travel in comfort from Denver.
But at United, we also know that it takes more than comfort, convenient flights and global reach to earn the trust and loyalty of local travelers. It takes excellent service and reliability as well.
And for the past 59 straight months, United beat out our top competitor in on-time departures from Denver. Moreover, despite operating twice as many flights, United had fewer cancellations the last two years than Denver’s second-largest airline.
United is also proud of the more than 7,000 local employees who are deeply committed to delivering an exceptional travel experience to every one of our customers, on every flight, every day.
That employment presence extends to our Denver flight training center as well – the largest facility of its kind in the Western Hemisphere that hosts more than 12,000 of United’s aviators each year.
At United, there is a shared purpose that drives us to create the best airline for everyone we serve: Connecting people, uniting the world.
We feel privileged to pursue that purpose here in Denver, and we take pride in the positive role United will continue to play in our great city, and in the lives of the customers here we so proudly fly.
Steve Jaquith is Vice President Denver Hub, United Airlines