Denver International Airport has been both a blessing and a curse since it first opened on February 28, 1995. On the positive side: DIA is the largest airport in the world in land size; At 53 square miles it's 3 times as big as DFW and 5 times as large as Manhattan. The terminal (designed by Fentress Bradburn) is an architectural and user friendly marvel; and it's 6 runways mean fewer delays even in the harsh front range weather. On the negative side: DIA opened 18 months late; it's costs spiraled from 1.5 to 5.3 billion dollars; DIA is located some 30 miles from downtown in the middle of an empty prairie; and its landing fees are so high that it is almost a monopoly for United meaning high costs for pax flying there. United controls some 80% of flights there, with low-cost carrier Frontier increasing market share as United weakens. The balance of the airline's control less than 10% of the traffic. Continental was Denver's second hub carrier but the cost of DIA and Continental's weakened position caused it to cut service to 9 flights per day down from over 100 by opening day.