Portland International Jetport | PWM

[Portlander]

33 mainline flights to 18 different locations out of PWM today!

 

[Portlander]

After many years of trying to expand and having to fight an avalanche of court battles, HVN can finally move forward with its new terminal project and must needed runway extension. Of course numerous permits and approvals still must be met prior to any future groundbreaking. Weight limits are impactful with shorter runways and reducing the amount of passengers and fuel are vital for safety and even our 6100' secondary runway is an improvement over Tweed's current situation.

 

[PWMFlyer]

There was talk to extend at the end of 29 about 600 ft , to give the Length to 7800. The angle of the runway is higher at the end of 11 than 29,. Options were looked at to tunnel the road in front of 11 to allow for longer length. The water table is high at that end which is an issue.

 

[Portlander]

The eastern option at 29 was kicked around years ago and would have been the less costly and least disruptive project of the two. An additional 600 feet for take offs only on runway 29 would have been helpful but the idea was shelved due to the improved performance of newer aircraft as Cosakita has pointed out. Johnson Road was already rerouted further west to accommodate the modest 400' extension in 2004 and any effort to extend the runway today would be met with fierce opposition from the neighborhood groups.

 

[PWMFlyer]

The jetport had one of these several years ago when the contract I think went to HMS Host. Now with bigger planes coming to PWM and now service to LAX and SFO, doesn't it make sense to use these after food options are upgraded?

 

[MarkHB]

The eastern option at 29 was kicked around years ago and would have been the less costly and least disruptive project of the two. An additional 600 feet for take offs only on runway 29 would have been helpful but the idea was shelved due to the improved performance of newer aircraft as Cosakita has pointed out. Johnson Road was already rerouted further west to accommodate the modest 400' extension in 2004 and any effort to extend the runway today would be met with fierce opposition from the neighborhood groups.

Flyer is right about the water table at the western end; that whole area is a sea of cattails. Trying to extend there would probably require putting both Western Ave. and the Turnpike into tunnels, which would be highly expensive and can we even do that these days with modern security concerns?
I would ask, given our load factors, and the fact that we can already handle a 737-MAX 8 on the longest scheduled route we have ever had, what would be the practical benefit of lengthening the runway again? (Other than pure safety overhead.)

 

[Portlander]

Now with bigger planes coming to PWM and now service to LAX and SFO

The size of the planes are not any larger, just more efficient. PWM used to get 757, 727 and MD80/90 aircraft on a daily basis when I worked the ramp for Delta prior to the runway being extended. The difference today is the percentage of mainline aircraft (over 30 a day peak) when 20 years ago most of flights utilized regional jets along with some prop aircraft. Mark is on point, other than for safety reasons there really is no need to lengthen the runway in the future.

 

[Stlin]

The jetport had one of these several years ago when the contract I think went to HMS Host. Now with bigger planes coming to PWM and now service to LAX and SFO, doesn't it make sense to use these after food options are upgraded? View attachment 74313

Do carriers do cart swaps at PWM? I don't know that there's enough call at PWM for cart swaps for drinks and snacks when for most airlines PWM is just a quick turn. They often don't restock at outstations like PWM - they do downline catering, where the plane brings in what it'd need for the return - ie, the morning SFO-PWM flight brings a full set of drinks meals etc for its 6pm return, and if the plane sits overnight, it'll only have shelf stable meals for the morning return. Even as Breeze runs point to point, everything on board is non perishable and their planes are never more than a flight or two from an airport with full catering services, and they can just ask the rampers for fresh bags of ice.

I mean... at that point you're very nearly asking for the implementation of a full flight kitchen, which is a much bigger lift, but honestly might be a prerequisite for more longer flights. That said, it's not unheard of for off-airport services to do catering for the limited number of flights that'd need it - I've heard tale of restaurants & commercial catering kitchens getting contracts to do first class meals, where the truck goes off-site to load up meal carts, but that's just relatively uncommon. (Apparently, JAL and the other Japanese carriers tend to source their premium meals from good local Japanese restaurants)

 

[Portlander]

and if the plane sits overnight, it'll only have shelf stable meals for the morning return

You are correct particularly when it comes to Delta flights out of PWM. When I have flown first class to ATL on the 5:30 AM departure you receive basically a "Lunchables" in a fancy box which is not even breakfast related. However, when I've flown first class to MSP in the early afternoon you receive a plated hot meal which I don't think is prepared by HMS Host in Portland. Most airlines have strict meal guidelines when it comes domestic first class and with Delta the flight has to exceed 900 miles and depart prior to 9 PM.