# Flying through Denver on United concourse B



## oregon pioneer

Hello friends, Hubby has to go to Kansas next week. When we planned this a few months ago, he really wanted to go by train. However, he didn't want to use up all his points (which it would have), take three days in each direction (counting the drive/bus to the train), and THEN make his relatives meet the train in the middle of the night (for pickup AND drop-off). I got online and found him a flight from Boise to Salina (SLN), at a reasonable price (<$400 r.t), at civilized hours of the day. Three of the four planes he'll be on are Canadair regional jets, which he has flown on in the past and likes better than jumbo jets. Only hitch is, he has to connect at Denver (ugh). It's United, so he will be going through concourse B.

Does anyone have experience flying through Denver on United? Food, concourse layout, etc? I see there is a ground-level extension on one end of concourse B for regional jets, though they don't necessarily load there (they can use jetways as well). I looked at current gates for those flights, and they are mostly in the higher numbers (ground level or nearby), but they can and will change every day depending on traffic. I'll look again when his day is listed in flight status.

Now we get to use our points for a trip next December on the EB, which we will take together. :wub:

THANKS!


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## AmtrakBlue

You should be able to find terminal maps with food locations etc online. 
Back in 2012 I flew Delta out of the ground level terminal.


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## Devil's Advocate

oregon pioneer said:


> Does anyone have experience flying through Denver on United? Food, concourse layout, etc?


In short and simple terms I'm not a fan of flying UA through DEN.  That being said most of my annoyances were specific to situations your husband won't encounter (customs, immigration, TSA re-check, duty free selection, etc.).  Nothing I've experienced at DEN was bad enough to put it on my no-fly list.  The food was unimpressive and the merchandise was overpriced but many airports are like that.  DEN is rather large for a domestic airport but relatively small for an intercontinental gateway.  Denver is the only airport I can remember feeling cold inside, so warm (but layered) clothing might be a good idea.


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## Bob Dylan

Not to mention that its located so far from the City that Natives call it  "Kansas International!" :giggle:


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## Seaboard92

I was not a fan of DEN when I flew from DEN-PDX on southwest last summer. I found the TSA line to be incredibly long, and time consuming. I barely made my flight and I gave myself two hours. And I was staying in the airport hotel.


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## AmtrakBlue

https://www.flydenver.com/enjoy_relax/dine

Interactive map:  https://maps.flydenver.com/?vid=den&amp;s=eyJnbG9iYWwiOnsiaGVhZGluZyI6MCwicG9zaXRpb24iOlszOS44NTQ3OTMsLTEwNC42NzM3ODNdLCJpc01vYmlsZVdpZHRoIjpmYWxzZSwibGV2ZWxJZCI6ImRlbi1nbG9iYWwtZGVwYXJ0dXJlcyJ9LCJsZXZlbFNlbGVjdG9yIjp7ImlzT3BlbiI6ZmFsc2V9LCJzZWFyY2giOnt9LCJwb2kiOnt9LCJuYXZpZ2F0aW9uIjp7InNlZ0luZGV4IjowLCJuYXZpZ2F0aW9uT25Hb2luZyI6ZmFsc2V9fQ

https://www.ifly.com/denver-international-airport/DEN-Concourse-B


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## AmtrakBlue

She said her husband was making a connection, so how far from Denver or how bad TSA is won't be an issue for him.


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## Trogdor

Having just connected through DEN today (in fact, I’m typing this while taxiing to the gate at ORD):  Basically, it’s one long concourse with a bunch of food in the middle, and a few food places amongst the gates. A reasonably quick walker can go from one end to the other in 5-10 minutes.


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## oregon pioneer

Thanks for the advice and the links. AmtrakBlue is correct, he will NOT be leaving the post-TSA area at all, just changing planes within a single concourse.

Looks like both City Wok and Que Bueno! Mexican, both of which I had bookmarked, are listed under grab-and-go food. East bound, he has plenty of time to check out the options. Coming back, he only has an hour to change planes (assuming the first leg is on-time), so he has to be prepared.


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## Devil's Advocate

Trogdor said:


> Having just connected through DEN today (in fact, I’m typing this while taxiing to the gate at ORD):  Basically, it’s one long concourse with a bunch of food in the middle, and a few food places amongst the gates. A reasonably quick walker can go from one end to the other in 5-10 minutes.


DEN actually has a few long parallel concourses that remind me of a wanna-baby ATL.



oregon pioneer said:


> Looks like both City Wok and Que Bueno! Mexican, both of which I had bookmarked, are listed under grab-and-go food. East bound, he has plenty of time to check out the options. Coming back, he only has an hour to change planes (assuming the first leg is on-time), so he has to be prepared.


Picking up food at DEN during an on-network single concourse domestic connection should be a breeze with an hour or more to work with.


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## PRR 60

I've stopped at the Woody Creek Bakery and Cafe at DEN Terminal B (mezzanine level at the central hub). Nice, fresh-made sandwiches, soups, salads.


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## Metra Electric Rider

I connected through there last summer, my take: pricey food and skint selection (compared to ORD anyways, imo). We had to connect on the lower level of United's terminal to a regional jet, we were on each of the wings/piers for each direction. I think going west we had a jetway, coming back stairs and at the plane baggage collection (door checked baggage from Grand Junction to Denver due to small regional jets) - our outbound flight way delayed each way, so the baggage delay was no problem either way, but those with tight connections had issues and got really angry. Crowded, but overall nothing out of the ordinary for a big American airport.

Depending on where his gate is, he may have to hustle to get between gates.


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## XHRTSP

I used to be based out of DEN and concourse B was my home.  Favorite restaurants include Que Bueno near B52, and Heidi's Brooklyn Deli near B87.


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## oregon pioneer

XHRTSP said:


> I used to be based out of DEN and concourse B was my home.  Favorite restaurants include Que Bueno near B52, and Heidi's Brooklyn Deli near B87.


Oh, thank you! I had picked out Que Bueno, and he may be pressed for time on the way back, and in the vicinity of Heidi's (B80-95 for both flights). He has time on the way east to "case the joint" thoroughly.


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## fairviewroad

The bathrooms are designated tornado shelters, should that become necessary. (The random things one remembers....!)

I've connected through DEN a couple of dozen times and it's always been easy. I hardly ever buy airport food anywhere, so I can't really comment on that.

All of the terminals are connected airside, so if he has time to spare and likes to wander, he can take the underground tram to have a look around. There's an unusual situation at DEN in that there is a pedestrian concourse that goes overtop of an active taxi way. You can literally stand and look down onto jets as they pass underneath you.  You can access this without leaving security. It's actually a nice quiet spot to relax if you have a long connection.


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## trainman74

Trogdor said:


> A reasonably quick walker can go from one end to the other in 5-10 minutes.


It sure _seems_ longer than this to me, and I consider myself a reasonably quick walker! (Fortunately, there are some moving sidewalks for parts of the terminal.)

Not sure if your husband has any health issues, but he may start feeling some effects of the altitude the more he walks. The airport's official elevation is actually higher than the city of Denver's (5,431 feet versus 5,280 feet).


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## Devil's Advocate

fairviewroad said:


> There's an unusual situation at DEN in that there is a pedestrian concourse that goes overtop of an active taxi way. You can literally stand and look down onto jets as they pass underneath you.  You can access this without leaving security. It's actually a nice quiet spot to relax if you have a long connection.


That's pretty cool.  There was talk of adding a sky bridge at LAX as part of the current series of expansion projects, but the cost and complexity of building one so tall that it could handle widebody aircraft proved to be problematic.  So instead they're building a subterranean tunnel for passengers with the aircraft passingoverhead.  Not nearly as interesting but still rather appropriate considering how passengers reached the terminals in the early days of LAX.



trainman74 said:


> It sure _seems_ longer than this to me, and I consider myself a reasonably quick walker! (Fortunately, there are some moving sidewalks for parts of the terminal.) Not sure if your husband has any health issues, but he may start feeling some effects of the altitude the more he walks. The airport's official elevation is actually higher than the city of Denver's (5,431 feet versus 5,280 feet).


I don't think I could move from one end to the other in 5 minutes but 10-15 should be perfectly doable if you have wheeled luggage and make use of the travelators.


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## cpotisch

fairviewroad said:


> There's an unusual situation at DEN in that there is a pedestrian concourse that goes overtop of an active taxi way.


That's nothing. Tag me when there's a pedestrian concourse over an active _run_way. :lol:


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## jis

I think railroad grade crossing across active runways is more fun where you have to get clearance from the Tower before heading across the runway :lol: A famous rail line has this feature.


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## Trogdor

jis said:


> I think railroad grade crossing across active runways is more fun where you have to get clearance from the Tower before heading across the runway :lol: A famous rail line has this feature.




What railroad crosses a runway?

I know in ... Gibraltar (?) ... there is a road that crosses a runway.


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## jis

The famous one is the Khyber Railway (part of erstwhile North Western Railway, now part of Pakistan Railway) crosses the main runway of Peshawar International Airport. The trains have to get clearance from the Airport Tower before proceeding across the runway, on their way to Landi Kotal at the mouth of Khyber Pass near the Afghan border on the Durand Line at Torkham.


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## caravanman

Gibraltar is pretty weird. I arrived at the border from Spain, and watched as a plane landed . One the gates opened, I could cross into Gibraltar, board a red double decker London style bus, salute a British policeman, and post a letter in a typical UK red post box. In 80 degree weather, I had roast beef for lunch, and sponge and custard for pudding. Felt a lot more like the UK than the UK does!

Ed


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## oregon pioneer

fairviewroad said:


> There's an unusual situation at DEN in that there is a pedestrian concourse that goes overtop of an active taxi way. You can literally stand and look down onto jets as they pass underneath you.  You can access this without leaving security. It's actually a nice quiet spot to relax if you have a long connection.


That sounds like fun! I see a long walkway between Concourse B & Concourse C, is that it?



trainman74 said:


> Not sure if your husband has any health issues, but he may start feeling some effects of the altitude the more he walks. The airport's official elevation is actually higher than the city of Denver's (5,431 feet versus 5,280 feet).


No health issues at all. He is used to physical activity, and hates being crammed into a small seat, so he'll want to stretch his long legs with a nice walk. We live at 4840', so the elevation is not an issue either.


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## AmtrakBlue

https://milehighcre.com/dia-celebrates-25th-anniversary-of-world-renowned-pedestrian-bridge/


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## fairviewroad

oregon pioneer said:


> That sounds like fun! I see a long walkway between Concourse B & Concourse C, is that it?


There isn't a walkway between Concourse B and C. What you may be seeing on a map is the underground tram that runs between all of the terminals.

The pedestrian bridge runs between Concourse A and the check-in terminal (known as the "Jeppesen Terminal.")

To get to the pedestrian bridge, he would need to follow the signs to the A Gates. This would lead him to the underground tram (runs every 2 minutes or so). He would take this one stop. It's a very short ride. Then, he would go upstairs and follow the signs to the pedestrian bridge. I forget how it's marked. He may need to go up two levels from the tram, I forget. But at a certain point it just becomes intuitive.

It sounds complicated, but you can be there in less than 5 minutes from the B Terminal (once you're at the tram station, which is in the very center of the B Concourse).

When you are on the pedestrian bridge, you can see (IIRC) the TSA check-in area, and it looks as though you are about to leave security, which you definitely don't want to do. However, it's easy, and in fact perfectly normal, to stay on the bridge without proceeding to the airport exit.

Note: The last time I connected through DEN was in November 2017, but I assume there have been no substantial changes since then.


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## cpotisch

jis said:


> The famous one is the Khyber Railway (part of erstwhile North Western Railway, now part of Pakistan Railway) crosses the main runway of Peshawar International Airport. The trains have to get clearance from the Airport Tower before proceeding across the runway, on their way to Landi Kotal at the mouth of Khyber Pass near the Afghan border on the Durand Line at Torkham.


There's also Gisborne Airport in New Zealand, which still has an active rail crossing.


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## PRR 60

The bridge is off the mezzanine level, two levels up from the inter-terminal train station - same level as the USO, Delta and American clubs.  You can use multiple escalators or  one of the elevators.


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## saxman

Be careful about taking the train to the main terminal. You may be forced out with the crowd at the main terminal and then be forced to exit the secure area of the airport. If that happens, just stay on board the train. Denver airport does a bad job to remind unseasoned travelers that this can happen and probably happens everyday.


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## Devil's Advocate

saxman said:


> You may be forced out with the crowd at the main terminal and then be forced to exit the secure area of the airport.


How are people "forced" to exit secure area?  Do you simply mean that people who blindly follow the crowd might inadvertently walk outside security?


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## oregon pioneer

OK, he's been eastbound through Denver, and is returning home today -- at least, he is trying. His flight leaving Kansas is 2 hours late, and he's going to miss his flight out of Denver. Subsequent flights out of Denver today are already full, and he noted east bound that the line at the help desk is about a block long. Any advice? PLEASE HELP!


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## Devil's Advocate

Step #1: Calm down and accept that he might lose a day getting back.  It's unfortunate but sometimes unavoidable.

Step #2: Self-check your expectations for practicality.  You don't want to be a pushover or an impossible solution.

Step #3: Call United and check the app/website for re-booking options while he waits in the customer service line.

If you have status call the number associated with that status level.  If not wait and hope for the best.


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## jebr

The best strategy is to wait in as many lines simultaneously as possible, so to speak. Check the app - if there's wifi aboard the flight, typically the carrier's app is available to check options. Once on the ground, call the customer service number while waiting in line at the airport service desk, and if the call answers first start seeing if they can rebook you.

It can help to try and find some alternate routings, even that aren't necessarily direct or pre-populated, to tell to the agent. Perhaps there's an option from San Francisco or Los Angeles back to your home airport, and there's also openings from Denver to one of those airports. The website may not pull these automatically, but they may help to get him home faster. Also check and see if there's any routings on Delta or American. Depending on the delay, United may be willing to rebook on another airline if they can get him home significantly faster.


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## oregon pioneer

No status. United in Kansas is not being helpful at all. I have a question about the help desk: if you stand in the line, and they put you on standby for next available flight (the last one of today's will have left while he's in the line), and you miss that next flight because it's already overbooked and/or everyone shows up, do you have to go back and stand in the line again?

I can see two options here at home:


Go to Denver, and take his chanced with the help desk.

Rebook on the next flight EAST bound, which goes to Chicago, and then the flight (nonstop) from Chicago to Boise tomorrow AM. That is currently available, if they will let him have it.


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## Devil's Advocate

In my experience you can usually request two recovery bookings in person (if you're calm and respectful).  That allows you to try for the best option and if you succeed the first boarding process will automatically cancel the second pass.  If you are unable to reach/use the first option the second later option will remain ready and valid.  Online or over the phone you typically get one recovery option at a time.  It has been a long time since I've had Airline A "sign over" my ticket to Airline B.  It's still technically possible but so far as I can tell it's no longer part of the standard resolution process unless you have status or are in a premium cabin.


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## oregon pioneer

Thanks for the advice. He's calling United's customer care line right now, as he's still sitting in Kansas. I found two other options supposedly available later today, one on United/Alaska, and one on Delta. I bet, given that he has the ultra-economy ticket, they won't let him have either.


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## jebr

I'd probably call and see if they can put him on standby for the 6:55 PM flight to Boise and, if that doesn't clear, book him on a flight tomorrow from Denver to Boise. It looks like there's still availability on all the flights out of Denver tomorrow. Since, either way, you're having to do an overnight, getting closer to home is better than backtracking if possible. It also looks like there's more options with more capacity out of Denver than O'Hare, which gives more wiggle room to rebook passengers.


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## jis

Following up on DA's comment, usually the ultra low fare tickets are non-endorseable. Under exceedingly rare circumstances exactly once in my 40 years of flying I have managed to get such a ticket endorsed to another airline that does not have some special deal with the original airline, and that was because of a phenomenal screwup at the original airline, and they were worried about getting sued in the US. It is exceedingly unusual. So probably multi-airline or a different airline solution won't work without buying a new ticket.

A flexible fare ticket or higher OTOH may be endorseable, specially in IRROP situations. The fare rules are incredibly opaque and you have to read through many pages of gobbledegook to figure it out. And of course, almost anything can be overridden by a sufficiently high up muckity-muck.


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## oregon pioneer

Thanks for all your advice. He got on the phone with Customer Care, and they re-booked him for tomorrow's 5:30am flight out of Kansas. The agent joked "if you miss your (tight) connection in Denver, you'll have all day to get re-booked."

Tomorrow's early morning flight originates at the Salina airport (which the afternoon flight does not -- it originates in Chicago. Was that the problem today?). He should get to Boise at 10am if all goes well, with the rest of the day to drive the four hours home to eastern Oregon. I checked this morning's status for him, and the arrival and departure gates for tomorrow. He should be able make the connection unless there's another glitch.


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## jis

Usually a 5:30 am would have its equipment overnighting at the airport, which means it is more likely to depart on time than a flight that uses an aircraft coming in from somewhere else for a tight turnaround at the airport.

While the gate information for Denver for tomorrow may remain as is, don't be surprised if they change several times before the actual flight happens.


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## oregon pioneer

Thanks, Jishnu. We're already familiar with the gate roulette. His eastbound flight arrived at the C concourse in Denver, instead of the B concourse where it was scheduled. Luckily he had plenty of time for the transfer. And yes, the flight from Chicago originated in State College PA this morning, and arrived at Chicago on-time. Who knows what the problem was? Looks like it is on the ground in Salina now, but he's not getting on it. The agent at Customer Care told him there were already standbys hoping to get on the later Boise flight from Denver, and he didn't stand a chance.

I am glad he decided to spend one more night with his family, rather than in an airport motel in Denver, and try again tomorrow.


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## oregon pioneer

Oh, you will all laugh... when he first called me, and things looked bleak, he was saying "the train goes through Newton at... tonight. I could still make it."


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## Devil's Advocate

Sounds like things are working out alright after all.  Or, put another way, all's well that ends well!  ^_^



jis said:


> Under exceedingly rare circumstances exactly once in my 40 years of flying I have managed to get such a ticket endorsed to another airline that does not have some special deal with the original airline, and that was because of a phenomenal screwup at the original airline, and they were worried about getting sued in the US. It is exceedingly unusual.


It was easy to know if your ticket was being endorsed back during the negotiable paper coupon era.  Back then Airline A would call Airline B and confirm space was available.  Then Airline A would physically sign the paper ticket over with a stamp, billing code, and signature.  At that point Airline B owned your ticket and any remaining responsibility to transport you to your next ticketed destination.  These days it's all done on the computer so it's hard to know precisely what's happening between the two airlines.  I've experienced a few similar examples in the era of e-tickets, at least in the sense that I was given the opportunity to re-book missed connections on other airlines without additional cost or penalty, but since I can't actually see what's happening it's entirely possible that rather than formally endorsing my ticket it's simply being converted under a negotiated multilateral resolution matrix.



jis said:


> Usually a 5:30 am would have its equipment overnighting at the airport, which means it is more likely to depart on time than a flight that uses an aircraft coming in from somewhere else for a tight turnaround at the airport. While the gate information for Denver for tomorrow may remain as is, don't be surprised if they change several times before the actual flight happens.


First flight of the day is the most likely to be at the gate before scheduled departure.  Unfortunately it's _also_ the flight most likely to discover a new technical issue.  Or at least that has been my experience. -_-


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## oregon pioneer

Only bad part so far is the day's delay and hey, that can happen on a train too. Here's the trip report: no problems getting out of Salina in time, but the poor folks on the ground in Hays were left standing at the gate for another several hours, as the plane could not land and went straight to Denver, arriving early. They are having some nasty weather in Kansas today, thunderstorms and then flood warnings later in the day, more of the same and high wind tomorrow. So glad he got out, and got to Denver in time for an easy connection.

He's landed in Boise now, and says he's rummy from getting up at 2:45am Central time. It's a 200 mile drive home and, unlike yesterday, there are snowy roads between there and here. It'll take some kind of an emergency that I can't currently foresee to ever get him to fly again. We are both REALLY looking forward to our next Amtrak trip in December where, if we get stuck anywhere, it'll be on a train.


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## saxman

Devil's Advocate said:


> How are people "forced" to exit secure area?  Do you simply mean that people who blindly follow the crowd might inadvertently walk outside security?


The way the train is set up at DIA. At it's last stop in the main terminal the door open on one side allowing the crowd to exit. There you put into a holding area that leads to escalators that only go up. After you get up the escalator it's only a few feet to the exit ropes Once you're beyond that you can't turn around. The only way to remain in the secure area is to know to stay on the train, but the PA system doesn't really say this. (I don't think) Either way, to the laymen traveller, it's not obvious how to stay inside.


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## Devil's Advocate

saxman said:


> The way the train is set up at DIA. At it's last stop in the main terminal the door open on one side allowing the crowd to exit. There you put into a holding area that leads to escalators that only go up. After you get up the escalator it's only a few feet to the exit ropes Once you're beyond that you can't turn around. The only way to remain in the secure area is to know to stay on the train, but the PA system doesn't really say this. (I don't think) Either way, to the laymen traveller, it's not obvious how to stay inside.﻿


I watched some videos and I see what you mean now.  By the time you get on the escalator you're basically screwed.  It looks like an intentional design choice, although I can only guess at their reasoning.  In the case of DEN I'm usually connecting or exiting through Customs & Immigration where there is no expectation of being able to remain airside.  Reading about some of the more unusual features is interesting (I like the unique taxiway bridge and I'll probably never forget Blucifer) but DEN's weird combination of sluggish yet aggressive security, their lackluster in-terminal vendor selection, and the mile high pricing puts them near the bottom of my connecting airport list.


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## frequentflyer

Concourse B has the best food court out of all the concourses.


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## chakk

trainman74 said:


> It sure _seems_ longer than this to me, and I consider myself a reasonably quick walker! (Fortunately, there are some moving sidewalks for parts of the terminal.)
> 
> Not sure if your husband has any health issues, but he may start feeling some effects of the altitude the more he walks. The airport's official elevation is actually higher than the city of Denver's (5,431 feet versus 5,280 feet).



Most commercial jet aircraft are pressured to 7,000 feet, so the altitude at Denver should be OK, unless he’s planning to run through the terminals like O.J.


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## john h

at least if your a smoker Denver has a smoking area inside security one of the few airports in the US


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## Deni

john h said:


> at least if your a smoker Denver has a smoking area inside security one of the few airports in the US



It's been years since I went through there and even longer since I was a smoker, but is it still in that bar area where you have to buy a drink to stay there and smoke?


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## Asher

The air in those smoking zones will impregnate a rock let alone your clothes.


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## john h

Deni said:


> It's been years since I went through there and even longer since I was a smoker, but is it still in that bar area where you have to buy a drink to stay there and smoke?



yes the smoking bear


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## john h

anumberone said:


> The air in those smoking zones will impregnate a rock let alone your clothes.



no worse than a casino


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## Asher

agreed, both the pits.


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