United Airlines begins offering direct bus service to Colorado ski slopes from Denver

United Airlines’ last ski destinations will be accessible by bus.

On March 11, the Chicago-based airline will begin offering bus service three times a day from its Denver International Airport hub in Breckenridge, Colorado and four times a day to Fort Collins on April 1. Checked baggage – and skis – will be transferred directly to the bus, provided by Landline, which will depart from a door at the airport. Landline says seating capacity will be limited due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Travelers can book their tickets directly to these destinations and get to the Denver bus service after their flights.

Travelers “don’t just go to Denver,” said Ankit Gupta, vice president of network and schedule planning at United. “They actually want to ski and go to all of these tourist destinations.”

Denver has been a relative bright spot for carriers during the pandemic as it has plenty of outdoor activities where travelers can physically get away from it, although Gupta said the airline has been discussing bus service for more than a year. year. United’s service to Denver is back to around 80% of 2019 traffic levels, most of the airline’s hubs.

Gupta said the idea was to capture demand from travelers visiting areas within a radius of about 100 miles from Denver and take the stress out of driving from the airport.

“We thought it would be a great test bed market,” he told CNBC. “We think this is a very low risk experience.”

If successful, United could expand the service to other outside destinations outside of Denver or to connections with its hubs in San Francisco and Newark.