Denver Air Connection

Denver Air Connection
Founded	1997
AOC #	KY7A882H
Hubs	Denver International Airport
Destinations	12
Parent company	Key Lime Air
Key people	Cliff Honeycutt (Founder, President and CEO); Glen Rich (Founder, Vice President and COO); Dan Bauer (Founder);
Website	denverairconnection.com

Denver Air Connection is a subsidiary of Key Lime Air providing both charter and scheduled passenger air service.

History

Key Lime Air, dba Denver Air Connection (DAC), operates FAR Part 121 regional airline scheduled passenger service and scheduled passenger air charter. DAC operates a public charter route between Grand Junction Regional Airport in western Colorado and Centennial Airport in the Denver area twice daily. DAC public-charter flights are operated with various aircraft, including Embraer ERJ-145 and Fairchild Dornier 328JET regional jets as well as Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner and Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops under FAR Part 135.

Denver Air Connection has an interline relationship with both United Airlines and American Airlines enabling travelers to book flights on United or American and travel on Denver Air Connection.^[2]^[3] The carrier announced in January 2024 that it would start an agreement with Delta Air Lines.^[4]

On 15 May 2019, the airline began service to Telluride Regional Airport also operating as Denver Air Connection and using the Fairchild Dornier 328JET. The service is the first jet service at the Telluride airport.

On June 1, 2019, the airline began its first Essential Air Service (EAS) contract at Alliance Municipal Airport under the Denver Air Connection brand, using the Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner. The service offers 12 weekly round trips to Denver. Only one of Key Lime Air's Metroliners is set up using the required 9-seat configuration.^[5]

In addition to the scheduled service, DAC offers private charters on its various airframes.

Scheduled destinations

Denver Air Connection serves the following destinations:

City	Airport	IATA Code	Destinations	Notes
Arizona
Phoenix	Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport	PHX	Cortez Telluride
Colorado
Alamosa	San Luis Valley Regional Airport	ALS	Denver	Contract awarded from SkyWest due to contract termination^[6]
Cortez	Cortez Municipal Airport	CEZ	Denver Phoenix	Contract awarded from Boutique Air^[7]
Denver	Denver International Airport	DEN	Alamosa Alliance Cortez Clovis Kearney McCook Pierre Telluride Watertown	Hub
Telluride	Telluride Regional Airport	TEX	Denver Phoenix
Illinois
Chicago	O'Hare International Airport	ORD	Ironwood Watertown
Nebraska
Alliance	Alliance Municipal Airport	AIA	Denver	EAS Community
Kearney	Kearney Regional Airport	EAR	Denver^[8]	EAS Community \| Contract awarded from SkyWest
McCook	McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport	MCK	Denver	EAS Community
New Mexico
Clovis	Clovis Municipal Airport	CVN	Dallas-Ft. Worth^[9] Denver	EAS Community
Michigan
Ironwood	Gogebic–Iron County Airport	IWD	Chicago O'Hare Minneapolis	EAS Community
Minnesota
Minneapolis/St Paul	Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport	MSP	Ironwood Thief River Falls
Thief River Falls	Thief River Falls Regional Airport	TVF	Minneapolis	EAS Community
South Dakota
Pierre	Pierre Regional Airport	PIR	Denver	EAS Community^[10]
Watertown	Watertown Regional Airport	ATY	Chicago O'Hare Denver	EAS Community^[11]
Texas
Dallas/Fort Worth	Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport	DFW	Clovis

Former destinations

City	Airport	IATA Code	Destinations	Notes
Colorado
Broomfield	Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport	BJC	Grand Junction	Ended due to low demand.
Denver-Centennial	Centennial Airport	APA	Grand Junction	Hub
Grand Junction	Grand Junction Regional Airport	GJT	Denver-Centennial	Ended due to low demand^[12]
Wyoming
Riverton	Central Wyoming Regional Airport	RIW	Denver Sheridan	EAS Community \| SkyWest Airlines awarded contract
Sheridan	Sheridan County Airport	SHR	Denver Riverton	EAS Community \| SkyWest awarded contract

Accidents and incidents

On April 14, 2022, a Fairchild Metroliner (registration N820DC) operating flight 4230 experienced a nose gear malfunction and collapse at slow speed following an aborted takeoff at Denver International Airport. There were no injuries reported.^[13]

References

^ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
^ Publisher, Maureen Pelisson, Associate. "Denver to Telluride in 40 minutes". Telluride Daily Planet.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "First-ever commercial jet service coming to Telluride". 9News. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
^ Gerardi, Joey (January 28, 2024). "Delta Adds New Interline Partner". AirlineGeeks.com. FLYING Media Group. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
^ "Regulations.gov". www.regulations.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
^ "Regulations.gov". www.regulations.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
^ "Regulations.gov". www.regulations.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
^ Hub, MIKE KONZ Kearney. "Denver Air Connection picked to serve Kearney Regional Airport". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
^ Gerardi, Joey (2021-09-30). "Denver Air Connection Announces Texas Launch Date – AirlineGeeks.com". AirlineGeeks.com – LIVE. LOVE. AVIATION. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
^ staff, Capital Journal. "SkyWest to be replaced by Denver Air Connections at Pierre airport". Capital Journal. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
^ VanDusen, Troy. "DOT Selects New Essential Air Service Carrier for Watertown Regional Airport". mykxlg.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
^ Dennis.Webb@gjsentinel.com, DENNIS WEBB. "Changes in the air: As COVID clouds start to part, airport seeks to soar in evolving market". The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Swearingen SA227-DC Metro 23 N820DC Denver International Airport, CO (DEN)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2022-04-16.

External links

Official site

[FAA-1] "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-27.

[2] Publisher, Maureen Pelisson, Associate. "Denver to Telluride in 40 minutes". Telluride Daily Planet.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[3] "First-ever commercial jet service coming to Telluride". 9News. Retrieved 2019-04-09.

[4] Gerardi, Joey (January 28, 2024). "Delta Adds New Interline Partner". AirlineGeeks.com. FLYING Media Group. Retrieved January 28, 2024.

[5] "Regulations.gov". www.regulations.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-03.

[6] "Regulations.gov". www.regulations.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-24.

[7] "Regulations.gov". www.regulations.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-24.

[8] Hub, MIKE KONZ Kearney. "Denver Air Connection picked to serve Kearney Regional Airport". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2022-08-26.

[9] Gerardi, Joey (2021-09-30). "Denver Air Connection Announces Texas Launch Date – AirlineGeeks.com". AirlineGeeks.com – LIVE. LOVE. AVIATION. Retrieved 2021-10-04.

[10] staff, Capital Journal. "SkyWest to be replaced by Denver Air Connections at Pierre airport". Capital Journal. Retrieved 2021-04-14.

[11] VanDusen, Troy. "DOT Selects New Essential Air Service Carrier for Watertown Regional Airport". mykxlg.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.

[12] Dennis.Webb@gjsentinel.com, DENNIS WEBB. "Changes in the air: As COVID clouds start to part, airport seeks to soar in evolving market". The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. Retrieved 2021-05-02.

[13] Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Swearingen SA227-DC Metro 23 N820DC Denver International Airport, CO (DEN)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2022-04-16.