view large screen version
DIA Hosts Airport Cities Conference and Unveils Forward-Looking Plan
Over the last decade or so, the words city airport have been transposed to form a new term: airport city.
And in some places—primarily in Asia and the Middle East—unplanned metropolises have given way to planned aerotropolises.
In April, a two-day conference about both concepts drew airport representatives from around the world to Denver. It was an opportunity to meet colleagues, discuss the latest initiatives about airport cities and aerotropolises, and to share ideas.
Well and good, but what do these terms mean, and how do they relate to Denver's airport?
As Dr. John Kasarda puts it, "Airports are no longer just airports." They don't merely provide pavement for aircraft and space for airline operations. Airports are now enterprises. They are landlords for commercial tenants. They develop revenue from sources other than airlines, and they look at ways to manage growth so that the environment is treated kindly and profitability is sustained.
Frankfurt Airport has one of the world's largest office buildings, the Squaire, within a five-minute walk of the airport's Terminal 1 and directly above a high-speed train line. Amsterdam has an organization comprising 11 public and private partners that are developing office and industrial parks in and around the city's Schipol airport. And Guangzhou Baiyun Airport in Canton, China, is developing 3.8 million square meters for cargo, industrial, and retail areas, plus a university and media and research centers.
Airports are becoming so complex, so varied in the services they offer, and in their activities on-site, that they are cities within themselves.
Kasarda, who is director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina, is credited with inventing the term aerotropolis, which has enlivened airport and city planning. Instead of cities viewing airports as transportation infrastructure (Stapleton used to be managed by Public Works), often allowing haphazard growth around airfield fences, cities are looking at airports as urban focal points and as the significant economic giants they are. A planned aerotropolis surrounds the airport with development that relates directly to aviation activity or complements it. So instead of something to be tolerated, an airfield becomes integral to the area's economic health and lifestyle.
Dubai's and Seoul, Korea's new airports, for example, are planned cities, with employee housing, technology parks, and other urban activity within airport boundaries and adjacent to them.
At the Airport Cities Conference, Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock released the initial planning for Denver's airport city concept. In his keynote address he said, "Denver, in full collaboration with our regional neighbors and partners, intends to seize the opportunity before us.
"We will create a development that thrives on the airport's natural synergy, attracting business and jobs that benefit from a close relationship to the airport and its inherent access to national and international markets," he added.
Denver's Airport City plan looks forward 30 to 50 years, identifying 9,000 acres within Denver International's extensive airfield boundaries and along the Peña Boulevard gateway corridor for specific kinds of development. Within airport boundaries are five planned areas—Aero, Agro, Center, Logistics, and Tech. These zones would give DIA's future non-aviation development a framework for growth.
For example, you might find within the Airport City Tech zone such businesses as aerospace manufacturing, renewable energy, and bioscience. The Airport City Agro zone might have warehousing, cold storage facilities, greenhouse agriculture, bio-fuel agriculture, and food processing and distribution companies.
DIA's airport city already is underway with the construction of a 500-room, at-terminal hotel and a commuter railroad line linking the airport to downtown Denver.
"Because of the gift we have been given by the leaders who came before us, we have a unique opportunity to take our region's biggest economic engine and spark a new era of growth that will transform Metro Denver and revitalize the regional economy," said Hancock.
With proper planning by Denver and its neighboring cities and counties, Denver International Airport can be the nexus of both an airport city and aerotropolis — reaping the benefits of non-airlined revenue and a symbiotic relationship with its locale.
DIA Greets Icelandair
On Friday, May 11, Icelandair and DIA kicked off the official start of service between Denver and Reykjavik, Iceland.
Icelandair is the first carrier that is new at DIA to initiate transatlantic service in the Denver market in more than 10 years, and the occasion was met with great fanfare.
The airline and airport celebrated with a party at the gate leading up to the first-ever Denver departure, treating guests to live music, cake, and photo opportunities that placed partygoers in iconic Icelandic scenery, courtesy of green screen technology.
The packed Boeing 757 pushed back from the gate just after 5 p.m. and winged across the Atlantic to Iceland in just under eight hours.
Icelandair will operate four flights per week from Denver, giving travelers easy, nonstop connections to more than 20 destinations in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Considered a value airline, Icelandair offers savvy travelers a fresh alternative for exploring European destinations and introduces Colorado visitors to the natural beauty of Iceland. The new service is good news for Denver's business forecast as well—it's expected to bring more than $28 million in annual economic impact to the state.
Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock and DIA Aviation Manager Kim Day addressed the crowd and the media attending the celebration.
"Today's official launch of service from Denver to Iceland is a momentous occasion to celebrate with our international partners, tourism representatives, and the public," Mayor Hancock said. "We expect this nonstop flight to play a vital role in boosting our regional economy by generating nearly 300 jobs, approximately $9 million in wages, and more than $19 million in tourism spending. Icelandair's service will also further open Denver's doors to international economic opportunities."
Mayor Hancock led a delegation of Colorado business and tourism leaders to Iceland in the days leading up to the inaugural Denver departure. Upon returning from his quick trip, he said, "Iceland's physical beauty is only surpassed by the beauty of the people and their hospitality. If Iceland isn't already on your bucket list, it will be shortly."
Kim Day said Icelandair was a welcome addition to DIA's growing family of carriers. "With 160 nonstop destinations to offer from Denver," she said, "we are looking forward to being the gateway for international travelers to visit Colorado and beyond." Europe, she added, is Denver's largest overseas air market and accounts for one-third of the city's international travel.
Landing Icelandair in Denver was a team effort, involving the City and County of Denver's Office of Economic Development, Visit Denver, the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, the State of Colorado, the Colorado Tourism Office, and Colorado Ski Country USA. All have agreed to support the new air service through marketing dollars and other means.
Icelandair CEO Birkir Holm Gudnason was on hand to commemorate the new relationship. "Thank you for the warm, Mile High City welcome," said Gudnason. "We are looking forward to meeting more Coloradoans and sharing the nature, lifestyle, and culture of Iceland." He reminded the audience of Iceland's Viking past and Colorado's western heritage, and quipped: "Cowboys and Vikings—what a great combination."
Icelandair's new ticket counter is located on the west side of Jeppesen Terminal, and flights will arrive at and depart from the A Gates. For more information about Icelandair routes, fares, and travel packages, visit www.icelandair.us.
Denver Welcomes Spirit!
Denver International Airport celebrated the arrival of Spirit's inaugural flight into Denver from Las Vegas Thursday, May 3, 2012. Spirit Airlines is now offering nonstop service between DIA and four of our largest markets, including Chicago O'Hare, Dallas—Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, and Las Vegas, with connections available to more than 30 additional cities throughout the United States, Caribbean, and Latin America. And to show off Denver "spirit" for our new airline partner, DIA's hospitality ambassadors greeted Spirit's passengers after they disembarked.
Spirit's new service includes:
- Daily service between Denver and Chicago O'Hare
- Daily service between Denver and Dallas—Fort Worth, with a second daily flight starting on May 17, 2012
- Daily service between Denver and Fort Lauderdale
- Twice-daily service between Denver and Las Vegas
At the inaugural event Aviation Manager Kim Day said, "In addition to connecting Denver-based travelers to multiple destinations, Spirit's presence in Denver will benefit travelers from across the carrier's robust network, allowing them to discover all that Denver and Colorado have to offer. New air service generates increased economic and tourism activity, and Spirit's decision to initiate service to Denver is certainly great news for metro Denver and the entire state."
Denver remains a very strong market for air travel. Passenger traffic set a record in 2011 when DIA served nearly 53 million passengers. The addition of Spirit to the airline family at Denver International Airport will certainly help this positive trend continue.
Bienvenidos a Punta Cana
Beginning June 9, 2012, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, will be one nonstop airplane ride away, thanks to Frontier Airlines' new service between DIA and Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ).
Punta Cana is nestled on the edge of the easternmost province of the Dominican Republic. The area has been a popular tourist destination since the 1970s and is best known for its beaches and balnearios (Latin American seaside resorts), which face the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
With an average temperature of 86 degrees Fahrenheit, it's easy to understand why Punta Cana is the fastest growing tourist spot in the Caribbean and a popular holiday destination for people from all over the world.
Punta Cana boasts more than 50 hotels and 30,000 hotel rooms spread across 40 kilometers of the East Coast's beautiful white sand beaches, making it the single-largest tourist destination in the Caribbean.
The area also is a major golf destination, with 12 courses open and more under construction. Punta Cana has courses designed by Nick Faldo, P. B. Dye, and Tom Fazio. The spectacular Punta Espada, with 15 of its 18 holes having views of the Caribbean Sea, is a Jack Nicklaus-designed course and is a stop on the PGA Champions Tour—the only tour stop outside the United States.
Frontier Airlines' flight to Punta Cana will be seasonal, operating on Saturdays through Aug. 4, 2012. So grab your golf clubs, exchange your dollars for pesos, and head to Punta Cana.
Students from Germany visit DIA
German students pose in front of a vehicle that is part of Denver International Airport's snow removal fleet. The students visited DIA on April 6 as part of a program organized by the Berlin-based Committee for the Promotion of Youth Exchange Projects. CPYE students have traveled to Denver and Colorado for 25 years. This year they also met Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, saw a Rockies game, toured a mine, and took in the sights at Red Rocks amphitheatre.
Air Service News
Frontier's New Destinations
Frontier Airlines begins its new year-round service from Denver to Bloomington/
Normal, Ill. (BMI), on May 17 and to Cedar Rapids, Iowa (CID), on May 18. Frontier also has started seasonal service to Bellingham, Wash. (BLI), Great Falls, Mont. (GTF), and Harrisburg, Pa. (MDT).
More Flights to Los Angeles and New York
Denver International Airport's daily flights to LAX will increase to 20 when Delta joins the four current airlines that have DEN-LAX service (American, United, Southwest, and Frontier). Delta will have four daily departures to Los Angeles.
By August this year, Denver travelers will be able to fly to New York on any of the 23 daily nonstop departures offered at DIA by AirTran, Delta, Frontier, jetBlue, Southwest, and United. Delta adds two daily flights to New York-LaGuardia (LGA) in July, and Southwest will begin operating twice-daily service to LGA in August.
Expansion through Acquisition
Because of Southwest's recent acquisition of AirTran, it is expanding its Denver service in June to include daily nonstop service to Akron, Ohio (CAK) and Dayton, Ohio (DAY).
Fairbanks for the Summer
Next month, United and Frontier start their seasonal nonstop service between Denver and Fairbanks, Alaska (FAI). United enters this market with daily service from June 7 through August 27, 2012.
Frontier: Out of Hobby; into Houston Intercontinental
As of July 9, 2012, Frontier will shift its twice-daily nonstop service between Denver and Houston from Houston-Hobby Airport (HOU) to Houston's Intercontinental International Airport (IAH).
Contributors
Kevin Andrews - Photographer
Lacey Barron – Writer
Laura Coale – Writer
Steve Klodt – Chief Editor
Jenny Schiavone – Writer
Mikhail Vafeades – Writer
City & County of Denver Department of Aviation
8500 Peña Boulevard | Denver, Colorado U.S.A. | 80249-6340
0 comments:
Post a Comment