Five airlines' DIA leases, $10.3 million more for new train cars and a $14.7 million recycling crew head to committee
Wednesday's transportation committee has 12 airport items. The airline leases skip bidding because the airport says there's no competition for them, and the train car amendment goes to the system's original maker.
Denver International Airport has 12 items on the Council's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee agenda for Wednesday, Nov. 18 (meeting). Most are on the consent list, which means they move without discussion unless a member pulls one.
Why it matters: together they set lease terms for five airlines through at least 2029, and commit about $36 million more to train cars, recycling, planning consultants and a driving simulator.
Airline leases
New three-year use and lease agreements, each with two one-year extensions, for American Airlines (26-1745), JetBlue (26-1746), Aeroméxico (26-1744), Viva Aerobus (26-1747) and Volaris (26-1748). Their current agreements expire Dec. 31.
The agreements have no fixed dollar value. The airlines pay "rates and charges" that the airport recalculates every year from its operating budget, debt and expected traffic, then trues up at year-end. Those include landing fees, terminal and gate rent, ramp fees and a per-passenger fee for the train, according to the airport's request for American.
Signing makes each a "signatory" carrier, which pays reduced rates. DIA has 25 passenger carriers, and four have long-term signatory agreements: United, Southwest, Frontier and Delta, the request says. The leases were not competitively bid; the airport cites an exception for cases where "competition does not exist."
Train cars
26-1750 adds $10,296,300 to Alstom's contract for 19 new train cars, bringing it to $80,237,300. The money pays to install updated signaling and communication equipment while the cars are being built, to match a separate upgrade of the train system. Without the change, the cars would need to be retrofitted on site, according to the request. Alstom is the original maker of the system, and the airport says it is the only company that can supply compatible cars.
What our records add: The Council approved the original $69,941,000 car purchase, 25-0187, on March 3, 2025 (meeting). Its title says 19 vehicles; its summary says 17. Alstom also holds a $288.7 million contract to operate and maintain the train system through 2031, 24-1360, approved in October 2024.
Recycling and composting
26-1754 is a five-year, $14,724,000 contract with Scraps Ltd. to expand the "Zero Waste Valet" program from Concourse B to Concourses A and C and the Jeppesen Terminal starting in 2027. Crews collect recyclables and compost from restaurants and shops, train their staff and check for contamination. The program started in May 2024 with a state grant, has diverted almost 2.5 million pounds and helped the airport reach a 25.5% diversion rate in 2025, according to the request. The airport expects 3.6 million pounds a year once the expansion is running, and 20 more jobs. This one was competitively bid.
Consultants and training
- Four more on-call airport planning contracts: $4 million each for Jacobsen Daniels Associates (26-1751) and Mead and Hunt (26-1752), and $1 million each for Merchant Aviation (26-1753) and The Aviation Planning Group (26-1755). Two more, $5.5 million for InterVISTAS and $6.5 million for Ricondo & Associates, are on Monday's Council agenda (26-1634, 26-1635). That's $22 million in on-call planning capacity across six firms.
- $1,022,040 for an airfield driving simulator from UFA Inc. (26-1749).
What's next
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 1 p.m.: committee. All 12 items are in District 11, represented by Stacie Gilmore.