Condition One

I have a job offer in COS, and I'm seriously considering it. For you UA COS flyers, how do you like the airport and staff? Is there an elite security line?

And in general, are fares more expensive than out of DEN? I anticipate monthly business travel to Hampton, VA (ORF). All CR7's And I also will travel pretty heavily to SFO/OAK for personal reasons.

Thanks!

JohnnyP

There are a couple threads on COS here. There have been some shifts in staff over the last few years and it seems, lately, to have been more heavily putting UX staff on the frontlines. Generally, I've had positive experiences and they definitely learn the names/faces of their frequent flyers. Some of the staff are absolutely great, most of the others are okay (nothing great, nothing horrible).

I would say "on average" fares are more expensive out of COS than DEN, but I usually found that with the right finaggling and pre-planning, I could get a fare out of COS for the same or only slightly more than flying out of DEN. ($50-$80 more was typically my decision break-point.) The drive up to DEN is not bad at all (not to mention scenic), particularly if you live near I-25 and on the northside of the city. (For example, the Rockrimmon/Peregrine area of town is 30-minutes to COS and only 1 hour 15 minutes to DEN.)

I avoided COS-ORD non-stops like the plague because of (a) Chicago and (b) United Express. The delays and poor service in Chicago was annoying. The COS-DEN UX flights are reasonably reliable and it's an easy connection from there. I would usually favour COS-DEN-IAD/CLT/LGA/BWI/PHL/PIT-XXX for east coast travel even if that involved two stops and/or US Airways. I just got tired of putting up with delays in/out of ORD on United Express flights.

There is a non-stop COS-SFO flight on UX Skywest which is also pretty reliable. (You will soon learn that Skywest runs a great UX operation, but they're not the only UX carrier in/out of the Springs.)

There was no elite security line last time I went through there; but it tends to move pretty quickly, although it can get backed up during peak hours.

Hope that helps! I'm sure others will have different opinions.

rch4u

I frequently fly between RIC and COS. To avoid long RJ segments (COS-ORD, 911 miles), I always double-connect in IAD and DEN. You can find lots of widebodies on the route, so upgrade chances are pretty favorable. ^

Avoid the Mesa DH8 flights from DEN-COS like the plague.

FF_Parrothead

I liked flying out of COS for the years that I lived there. The parking is a snap, the security lines are OK, and the gate agents are usually friendly. The only real issue I have had is ir-ops. When something bad happens, the gate agents get swamped very quickly. They do have the wild card that if there is an issue with your flight, boom, they put you in a cab and send you to DEN. I think more so than some other airports of similar size.

As far as DEN, I split flights between COS and DEN when I go there. I have no problems with F on the CRJs, which I never have a problem getting. On the other hand, I can get to DEN for <$200 and to COS <$300, the prices I find seem to be about $100 different.

That said, getting 500 RDM for a 15 minute flight is kinda cool. I have never noticed, do the EQMs on COS-DEN equal 80miles or the RDM minimum of 500?

camachinist

500. I like that flight as much as MOD-SFO

I think they ended the mainline a/c to COS from DEN, didn't they? Kinda weird being on an A320 for 20 minutes....

Pat

JohnnyP

Yeah, it's an all-UX station now (which, I think, is what led to some of the United mainline staff being laid off there... now it's all UX personnel). As one of the old agents recounted to me, they kept a few mainline flights for a while to retain the United mainline gate and customer service agents at COS. Since Colorado Springs is sometimes used a diversion station for Denver-bound widebodies who encounter bad weather, they needed to keep mainline staff there (for whatever reason). Everyone was still lobbying hard for ORD-COS to return to mainline, but with ExPlus now that looks grim.

ColoBill1

Personally, if at all possible, I prefer flying out of COS, rather than DEN, even if fares from there routinely tend to be somewhat higher. COS is a fair distance closer to my home than DEN (and I even live north of the city), has a compact terminal (12 gates or so), and has convenient and rather inexpensive parking ($6 a day long term, and can walk from long term parking to terminal in about three minutes if no shuttle bus is around). A recent interior renovation of the terminal included construction of a nice sized food court, as well as a comfortable seating area for those awaiting incoming passengers. Currently, there is construction underway outside the front of the terminal, including what appear to be small structures for the different rental car companies.

As Johnny P stated, the check-in counters are now being manned by UX personnel, and all flights to DEN and ORD are UX. The CR7 is the largest aircraft now servicing COS. The UX agents seem to be quite personable, but based on my recent interactions with them know that their capabilities and level of knowledge are certainly a step or two below the old UA mainline staff. I recently spent an entire hour there one afternoon having an agent issue two tickets; the only challenge was that I was using CS$25s.

Condition One

Thanks for all your responses. I'm flying out to COS early next week to take a look at the town. I've spent a good amount of time in Denver on business travel, but never visited COS. From previous threads on Mesa, I'm a little concerned. But I know SkyWest is a good operation from all my SNA-LAX-OAK flights so I'll just stick to them.

Gamble1294

All of COS is handled by SkyWest. Mainline was taken out back in January, but some of the mainliners stayed with SkyWest.

Mesa is horrible there, along with DEN. Never fly a DH8. You will thank me later. They suck to fly, and suck to load.

Your best bet is to fly out of DEN, and work in COS. You will thank me for that as well.

DenverBrian

You think that was weird...in the 90s they ran COS-DEN on DC10's!

lilpisher

Is there anywhere Mesa isn't horrible? I've also had good experiences with Shuttle America- not sure if they fly in CO though.

BA

Yes, last year.

20 minute A320 flights are quite common in the rest of the world.

camachinist

Yeah, but when one is used to EM-120's and sees an RJ as a step up into the real world, well

Pat

mahasamatman

Row 9BC on an EMB-120 beats any row on a CRJ.

camachinist

Out of our local, I would generally agree, though row 3 (and F) on the CR-700's isn't bad. SkyWest doesn't fly the EM-170/190 (for UA), which I vastly prefer overall, as transport. For a flying experience, the EM-120 wins, hands-down, IMO.

I guess my few experiences on mainline a/c from DEN-COS was a lot like climbing into a 744 to fly from MEL-SYD. Fun, but weird

We have family and friends in the COS area, so I'm looking forward to seeing the changes at COS this year. IIRC, they had free wi-fi the last time I flew through there. Is that correct and/or still the case?

Pat