Frontier Airlines has unveiled today details of a proposed 14-gate ground boarding facility at Denver International Airport (DEN). In partnership with the airport authority, the carrier is seeking approval for the new facility from the Denver City Council.
On Wednesday (April 6, 2022), Frontier Airlines announced, in partnership with Denver International Airport (DEN), details of a new 14-gate ground boarding facility at Denver International Airport (DEN). The carrier is now seeking approval from the Denver City Council for a 10-year agreement that covers the build out of the 120,000 square foot facility, with 37,000 square feet of new build and 83,000 square feet of remodeled space. The proposed ground boarding gate facility will be located on the east end of Concourse A and include 14 gates, 18,000 square feet of support space and an adjacent 18,000 square foot maintenance facility.
In today’s announcment, Frontier Airlines’ CEO, Barry Biffle, said,
“This agreement marks a new era for Frontier Airlines and Denver International Airport. A dedicated ground boarding facility will benefit customers by cutting in half the time for boarding and deplaning through the use of both the front and rear aircraft doors. That, in turn, will reduce our time on the ground between flights by nearly half and nearly double our number of aircraft operations per gate. We already serve 80 destinations from DEN and this new facility will enable us to bring even more service and more ultra-low fares to more people via Denver International Airport.
“We use ground boarding in a number of other airports around the U.S., including at one gate in Denver already, and it is common practice in international destinations. Along with newly built, custom-designed areas for customers, team members and maintenance, this facility will be an extraordinary new addition to DEN. We are proud to be Denver’s hometown airline. This landmark new facility will enable us to continue to grow at DEN, and provide more service for our customers, along with more jobs and greater economic benefit for the Denver community.”
Proposed Facility Renderings: 1) Customer Service Desk, 2) Customer Waiting Area, 3) New Crew Room - Courtesy Frontier Airlines
Under the proposal, which will be presented to the full Denver City Council on April 18th, Frontier will have branding rights, preferential use and scheduling rights for the 14 ground boarding gates, which will enable multi-door boarding and deplaning. The new DEN facility will also have escalators and elevators to transport customers from the existing Concourse A, as well as a variety of customer-centric features such as charging stations, a pet relief area and retail. Pending approval, the first four gates are targeted for completion in 2023, with the full project slated for completion by summer 2024.
Source: Frontier Airlines