Portland International Jetport | PWM

I do think PQI has room to grow and capture market share from BGR.... but I'm a bit skeptical as to whether there would ever be enough demand to fill an A220 every day even to just a 75% load factor. I think JetBlue is interested in PQI primarily for operational reasons.....it helps feed their BOS hub and by overnighting a plane at PQI it frees up gate space at Terminal C which is very limited. With an EAS subsidy it's a low-risk, medium-reward proposition.

United has done well with PQI-EWR and I think 12 flights a week with a ~50 seat RJ is the perfect level of service for the Aroostook County market.
 
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Congratulations to PWM on receiving the the 2023 ASQ award for the best airport for 2 to 5 million passengers a year.
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LaGuardia? Don't we always hear nightmares about that airport? Or am I confusing them with Newark?
 
LGA has made some major improvements to its terminals, which goes into consideration for the award. EWR is the worst to fly into aka cancellations and delays.
 
The days of dreading flying in or out of LGA are over and one of the most disliked airports in the country has made huge improvements with over $8B in investments during the last 6 years. Delta's new terminal C is stunning and cost $4B to build.
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For amusement, the 3D flyover view in Apple Maps currently shows Delta’s new LGA terminal mid-construction. The phasing they did to rebuild it in place was wild.
 
So Charleston, WV to Charleston, SC service was discontinued a while back making it the only two same name cities with mainline service in the US. Well there are now two other same name cities with "seasonal" mainline service. Any guesses?
 
Paul told me last week that the modest expansion at the west end of the terminal (space over the loading dock) that will include new seating and restrooms will be tight financially but they should be able to make it happen. (y)
 
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This is an old pic of the ATC ISP airport. Notice the resemblance to PWM. Is there any talk to replace ATC tower at PWM? I had a conversation with someone who works the ATC circuit and said that if a new tower was built, they would lose their sector to BOS? Same goes for ARFF. There was a plan a long time ago to move these and free up possible terminal expansion space.
 
There are actually a couple of towers that resemble Portland's still in service and they were all constructed during the late 60's if my memory serves me correctly. I was told back in the 90's during a tour that replacing PWM's tower would not be a priority until it actually falls down due to the airport being only 76' above sea level with no surrounding obstructions that would hamper the controller's ability to perform their duties. There was talk of moving the tower location around the same time the upper concourse of the terminal was being planned that added gates 5, 6 and 7 but it was dismissed due to the cost and reasons already mentioned. I am still surprised that the tower is unmanned from midnight to 6 AM with the arriving and departing aircraft having to turn on the runway lights from the cockpit which seems like a potential mishap waiting to happen.
 
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Portland's was in the early-mid 70's; I believe I was living with my grandparents at the time and that was... in that timespan. The new tower doesn't exist in the 1970 Historic Aerials shots of the Jetport.
 
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Good call with the date Mark. This photo is from around 1967 and I knew that the airport used the tower on top of the old terminal for a while after the new terminal opened but wasn't sure when the current tower was built. I do remember my father (USMC) flying out of the new terminal in 1969 on his way to Vietnam and as a 12 year old kid I was in awe of Portland's "futuristic" airport terminal!

Portland Press Herald photo
 
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