Denver Air Connection
Denver Air Connection is a subsidiary of Key Lime Air providing both charter and scheduled passenger air service.
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Founded | 1997 | ||||||
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AOC # | KY7A882H[1] | ||||||
Hubs | Denver International Airport | ||||||
Focus cities | Denver | ||||||
Destinations | 12 | ||||||
Key people | Cliff Honeycutt (Founder, President and CEO) Glen Rich (Founder, Vice President and COO) | ||||||
Website | denverairconnection |

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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 United Airlines enabling travelers to book flights through either Denver Air Connection or United's Global Network.[2][3]
On May 15, 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 Metroliner is set up using the required 9-seat configuration.[4]
In addition to the scheduled service DAC offers private charter on its various airframes.
Scheduled destinations
Denver Air Connection serves the following destinations:
City | Airport | IATA Code | Destinations | Notes |
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Phoenix | Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport | PHX | Telluride | [5] |
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Denver | Denver International Airport | DEN | Alliance
Clovis McCook (begins June 1, 2022) Pierre Telluride Watertown |
Hub |
Telluride | Telluride Regional Airport | TEX | Denver
Phoenix |
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Chicago | O'Hare International Airport | ORD | Ironwood
Watertown |
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Alliance | Alliance Municipal Airport | AIA | Denver | EAS Community |
McCook | McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport | MCK | Denver (begins June 1, 2022) | EAS Community |
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Clovis | Clovis Municipal Airport | CVN | Dallas-Ft. Worth[6]
Denver |
EAS Community |
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Ironwood | Gogebic–Iron County Airport | IWD | Chicago O'Hare
Minneapolis |
EAS Community |
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Minneapolis | Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport | MSP | Ironwood
Thief River Falls |
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Thief River Falls | Thief River Falls Regional Airport | TVF | Minneapolis | EAS Community |
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Pierre | Pierre Regional Airport | PIR | Denver | EAS Community[7] |
Watertown | Watertown Regional Airport | ATY | Chicago O'Hare
Denver |
EAS Community[8] |
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Dallas | Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport | DFW | Clovis |
Former destinations
City | Airport | IATA Code | Destinations | Notes |
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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[9] |
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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
- 14 April 2022: an 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. .[10]
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.
- "First-ever commercial jet service coming to Telluride". 9News. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- "Regulations.gov". www.regulations.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
- himself; Cream, The First Thing He Did with the License Was Get Ice; Management, go plane spotting for the entire day When he has the timehe likes to take spotting trips to any location worth a visit He’s currently enrolled at Western Michigan University earning a degree in Aviation; Operations. (2021-08-27). "Denver Air Connection Spreads Its Wings – AirlineGeeks.com". AirlineGeeks.com – LIVE. LOVE. AVIATION. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
- Gerardi, Joey (2021-09-30). "Denver Air Connection Announces Texas Launch Date – AirlineGeeks.com". AirlineGeeks.com – LIVE. LOVE. AVIATION. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - 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.