A Comparative: Denver and Austin-Bergstrom International Airports ...

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experience. In 1958, it began overseeing Austin's City owned airport operations and maintenance. The Department has operated as a self-supporting entity since 1972. It does not receive any general fund subsidy and has paid for all general obligation debt issued from airport generated funds. Passenger Traffic Denver International Airport served more than 52 million passengers in 2011 and ranked as the fifth-busiest airport in North America and the eleventh-busiest airport in the world. Austin-Bergstrom served more than nine million passengers in 2011, ranking among the top 50 airports in the U.S. Denver’s central location makes it a natural connect point for transcontinental travelers. As a result, over 45 percent of passengers in Denver never leave the airport – they are simply connecting to other flights. In addition, Denver is one of the largest domestic hub airports in the U.S. with over 23 million annual domestic passengers beginning or ending their trip in Denver. International traffic at Denver accounts for two million passengers annually – approximately four percent of the airport’s total passenger traffic. Austin-Bergstom is the airport servicing the Austin Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), consisting of Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties. The secondary service area of the ASA includes Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Lee, and Llano counties. Passenger Airlines Denver is the third-largest hub for United, a member of the Star Alliance. Denver is also the largest hub for low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines and regional carrier Great Lakes Airlines. In addition, Denver has quickly become one of the largest cities in Southwest Airlines’ low-cost network and now ranks as the carrier’s second-largest station. Denver has scheduled commercial passenger air service by 15 airlines. Following the trend of the data presented above, most of the airlines serving Denver are U.S.-flag carriers flying to domestic destinations. Five foreign-flag carriers – Aeromexico, Air Canada, British Airways, Icelandair, and Lufthansa– operate at Denver. Austin is served by nine domestic airlines, including Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, jetBlue, Southwest, United, and US Airways. Southwest, through it’s wholly owned subsidiary AirTran, provides nonstop service to Austin’s international destination, Cancún, Mexico. Nonstop Destinations Passengers can reach more than 175 nonstop destinations from Denver, depending on the season. Due to DEN’s strength as a domestic hub, the majority of these destinations are in the United States. DEN has nonstop service to 20 international cities in seven countries – Germany, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica – are served nonstop from Denver. United Airlines recently announced that it would initiate nonstop service between Denver and Tokyo-Narita, Japan, in March 2013. Tokyo will be DEN’s 21 st international destination and help DEN achieve the benchmark of 180 destinations. AUS offers scheduled nonstop passenger service to 38 domestic destinations and one international city, Cancún, Mexico. In 2007, Mexican carrier VivaAerobus announced plans to operate their Boeing 737 aircraft to Austin with six new non-stop flights to the Mexican cities Cancún, Guadalajara, León/Bajío, Monterrey, Puebla, and Querétaro. In 2009, because of the Swine Flu epidemic VivaAerobus ceased flights from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. 2
Cargo Cargo operations have been declining at DEN since 2001, with the exception of a slight uptick in 2010. Cargo development at Denver has long been focused on WorldPort. The facility includes two 60,000- square-foot buildings on airport land off Peña Boulevard. In early 2008, DIA bought WorldPort from previous developers, and airport management is working to develop a strategy to best market the facility. Similarly, cargo operations at Austin airport have been in slight decline since 2001. Austin’s cargo operations are centralized at CargoPort, a 155,000-square-foot air cargo facility at AUS. CargoPort operates on a continuing $13 million partnership and operating agreement with Federal Express, Airborne Express and Burlington Air Express. Terminals, Concourses & Growth Denver’s signature tent roof houses the airport’s Jeppesen Terminal, and passengers catch flights on over 90 gates located on Concourses A, B and C. A new regional jet commuter facility on Concourse B opened in 2007, making connections that much easier for DIA’s growing number of passengers. DIA is in the final stages of an update to the airport master plan that provides a framework for the airport’s growth through the 2030/2035 timeframe. In the near term, growth at DEN will take place as part of the South Terminal Redevelopment Program which will integrate Jeppesen Terminal with an on-airport hotel and the FasTracks station. Initial plans for a seventh runway are also underway, with a completion date in the 2015/2020 timeframe. Austin-Bergstrom’s Barbara Jordan Terminal was designed by the Austin firm of Page Southerland Page with associate architect Gensler. The terminal is 660,000 square feet with a total of 25 gates. Inside the terminal, many local restaurants have leased concession space so that visitors can get a "taste of Austin" as they come through. The terminal also has a live music stage on which local bands perform in keeping with the spirit of Austin's proclamation as "The Live Music Capital of the World." The terminal is connected to a 3,000 space parking garage used for public parking as well as rental car pick-up and return. A new dedicated facility known as the South Terminal Austin was approved by the Austin City Council in order to accommodate the arrival of Mexican-based, low-cost airline, VivaAerobus, which launched operations on May 1, 2008. That terminal was closed on June 1, 2009, after VivaAerobus terminated service to Austin. Revenue Generation In terms of sources of revenue, space rentals rank first for DEN, with parking and airline landing fees as the second- and third-largest generators of revenue for DEN, respectively. Other sources of non-airline revenue include land rents from farming operations and oil drilling on airport property. The top three sources of revenue for AUS are space rental fees, parking, and rental car fees. Environmental Management Denver is one of the leading airports in the world in terms of environmental management. In fact, DEN is the only international airport in the United States with an ISO 14001- certified Environmental Management System (EMS) that encompasses the entire facility. In addition, DEN is a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Environmental Performance Track Program and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment’s Leadership Program. DEN has two solar panel fields, with a third scheduled to open in August 2011, that produce enough energy to both power the solar fields and run the people-mover train system that transports passengers between concourses. DEN is committed to incorporating sustainable principles in the airport’s operations and activities. 3
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