DENVER — United Airlines has opened a brand new Station Operation Center (SOC) at their Denver International Airport hub, as it continues to grow in the Mile High City.
The airline says Denver is their fastest-growing hub, now operating around 550 daily departures.
The SOC acts as the "quarterback" for the airline in Denver, working to ensure each flight has been cleaned, catered, and has everything it needs to depart from the gate. The airline says it has invested nearly $1 billion to improve both the customer experience at its key airports, as well as the employee experience behind the scenes.
They say they have over 10,000 employees based in Denver, including around 45 on each shift working in the station operation center. The SOC becomes key in managing weather events, which cause flight delays out of the control of the airline.

"Some of our biggest challenges are just weather," said Colin Whatley, who oversees the SOC. "We've had a really challenging spring. A lot of bad weather, a lot of rain here in the Denver area, which is great for the environment, but does make for a challenging operation."
When it comes to flight disruptions, United says it directs customers towards its app to manage their day-of travel experience. It is touting new AI-powered features they say help save connections for customers by identifying departing flights that have the ability to stay at the gate a bit longer.

Denver7 also asked United about how consistent issues with crowding on DIA's trains impacts their own customer experience.
"We work with the city on all the infrastructure issues here at Denver," said Jonna McGrath, vice president of United's Denver hub.
"As we grow, it's our customers that need to utilize, whether it's the train or the baggage system, all the different things that come into play," McGrath said.
McGrath said the airline expects the new East Security checkpoint, opening this August, to help alleviate some of the train traffic.
United expects over 60,000 customers a day traveling in and out of Denver around the Fourth of July.





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