Denver set to become airline battleground

There are three kinds of airlines now: full-service, international network airlines like United, Delta and American; lower-fare, lower-fee value carriers like Southwest jetBlue JBLU +0.99%and Virgin America, and ultra-low-cost, high-fee carriers like Spirit, Allegiant and now Frontier airlines.

And there’s one place where all three flavors of air carriers have major operations and are battling head-to-head at the same airport: Denver International Airport.

This week’s Middle Seat shows how Denver, once maligned for its high cost and remote location, has become ground zero in the war between the airline models. It has happened because of the rapid growth in Denver of Southwest Airlines LUV -1.32%.

Denver, which Southwest shunned for two decades, has turned out to be the fastest-growing new city in Southwest’s history. In seven years Southwest overtook United as the biggest airline for local passengers–those who start or end their travel in Denver, excluding connecting passengers. Denver is now the fifth-largest city for Southwest in terms of flights, bigger than Houston and Dallas and closing in on Phoenix.

And Southwest’s huge growth has forced Frontier to change its stripes. Frontier now channels Spirit as an ultra low fare carrier with high fees for even carry-on bags. Coming next month: $2 for a soda.

The story looks at how Southwest did it and what’s ahead for Denver, which will be fascinating for travelers to watch. What happens in Denver won’t stay in Denver: It may well forecast what airline models will ultimately be successful.

 

(Scott McCartney - The Wall Street Journel (The Middle Seat Terminal - Blog))