Colorado Springs Airport tries to keep up with Denver prices
Colorado Springs Airport is offering half-priced parking this holiday season, to try and steal some of its customers back from Denver.
From January to September, Colorado Springs saw an 8 percent decrease in passengers compared to last year.
Some people think that’s because Colorado Springs has higher priced flights.
In comparison to Denver, ticket prices for domestic flights at the Colorado Springs Airport can be anywhere from $25 to $150 more expensive.
“I’d rather fly into Colorado Springs, but the prices typically are way more expensive… and you get layovers and stuff like that so,” said Robert Beardslee, a man who flew into the Denver International Airport, and only came to COS to return his rental car.
Greg Phillips, the Director of Aviation at the Colorado Springs Airport, says the prices are higher at COS because there are fewer carriers. However, he says the airport has been in contact with Southwest airlines, and remains optimistic about adding the popular carrier in the future.
Phillips says, right now, Southwest isn’t adding any new cities because of the financial setback of having to ground the Boeing Max 737 planes. But he says that could change by the year 2021.
In the meantime, some people told us they’ll continue to travel via Colorado Springs because of the convenience.
“For me, my friends can drop me off or family can drop me off easier here than they can into Denver,” said Kate Everts.
“It’s an opportunity for me to get in and out quickly, not fight the traffic, especially with the gap project that’s going on,” Rich Dundore also explained.
We asked Colorado Springs officials if they think last year’s fire and the continuing construction inside the airport was a contributing factor to the decrease in passengers since September.
They said absolutely not. Officials tell us insurance covered the cost of all the new renovations, and they only had to shut down the airport for a single day after the fire.
If you are booking a flight soon, you can use this calculator designed by the city, to factor in drive time, gas prices, and parking prices, to see which airport will be more affordable for your trip.
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