The Colosseum and unimpeachable cappuccinos are more accessible to Coloradans, with a first-ever nonstop flight between Denver and Rome, whose airport is named for none other than Leonardo da Vinci.
The new United route opened this afternoon, as a Boeing Dreamliner pushed back from Gate A27. The seasonal service is daily through September 24.
On board was Ellie Muncy, of Breckenridge, who sought out an inaugural flight.
“I had seen a TikTok about them and that they do fun parties and things and I was like, ‘Oh! That looks cool.' So I looked up what inaugural flights United had for this year and saw Rome as one of them, and I'm like, ‘that would be a really cool place.’”
Muncy’s family went with her. She most looks forward to the architecture.
United’s Rome flight lasts ten and a half hours.
“Seats are nearly sold out for the first week and overall bookings are on par with other existing routes to Rome,” according to airline spokesman Russell Carlton.
Politics and economics will determine its long-term success. “With European travelers shying away from US travel due to the Trump administration’s policies, we’ll see if Rome sticks for United,” noted transportation journalist Edward Russell.
“Airlines typically pull back to just hub flights during downturns, which would mean Frankfurt and Munich for United in Europe.”
With Rome, United grows its summertime international destinations out of Denver to 22. Come October, the carrier will fly nonstop to Mexico City, Mexico and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
This has been a big, nay, superjumbo week for DEN. On Wednesday, Lufthansa brought the world’s largest passenger aircraft here for seasonal service to Munich, an epicenter of beer, like Denver.
