Logan Airport Flights and Airlines Discussion

I look at PVD to BOS as a very similar relationship to SJC and SFO. PVD services the Boston Metro area and adding international flights there benefits the region as a whole. Boston is not in a situation like say Denver, where you go drive 6 hours in any direction and not hit an airport with any form of major air service like you can with Boston. You have Hartford, Manchester and Providence all within that range with major air service.
 
I look at PVD to BOS as a very similar relationship to SJC and SFO. PVD services the Boston Metro area and adding international flights there benefits the region as a whole. Boston is not in a situation like say Denver, where you go drive 6 hours in any direction and not hit an airport with any form of major air service like you can with Boston. You have Hartford, Manchester and Providence all within that range with major air service.

Good analogy. For a significant part of metro Boston, PVD is closer (or at least easier) to access. So service there is definitely beneficial to the metro area.
 
Good analogy. For a significant part of metro Boston, PVD is closer (or at least easier) to access. So service there is definitely beneficial to the metro area.

It costs 25 dollars a day to park in Logan Economy Spots (which is insane). I'm sure that a large number suburban families would rather drive to PVD, MHT, or PSM than deal with driving through the city and paying exorbitant rates for parking. Yes there is good public transit to Logan however the majority of Mass households don't live next to public transport (commuter rail or rapid transit).
 
Good analogy. For a significant part of metro Boston, PVD is closer (or at least easier) to access. So service there is definitely beneficial to the metro area.

This likely belongs (and maybe already does!) in crazy transit pitches, but down the line--if PVD became "the Chosen One" as a BOS alternative--it could be a feasible idea to run PVD Express-style service on commuter rail from South Station with stops only at BBY, Rt-128, and PVD.
 
^More reasonable would be to add an extra Amtrak stop at Providence airport.

Also could a name change be in store for PSM or PVD? I'm sure that Norwegian would want better name recognition. I propose renaming the winner of the Norwegian base New England International Airport. This makes even more sense for Portsmouth airport, no offense I live Portsmouth but it is a small city.

If Portsmouth wins i'm sure that a shuttle bus service would be set up.

I'm very interested to see who wins. I believe that the Portsmouth NH area has a stronger economy however the Providence area is denser and is already better connected to transit. If I had to bet I would say that Providence will win unless Portsmouth offers lower fees or other incentives.

Also I know this is crazy but could Norwegian possibly offer fifth freedom flights to areas beyond Europe? For example a flight to Vancouver or the Caribbean. Heck it even might make sense for Norwegian to offer fifth freedom flights using their 787's to Brazil. Cathy Pacific flies between New York and Vancouver so the idea isn't too far fetched.
 
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It costs 25 dollars a day to park in Logan Economy Spots (which is insane). I'm sure that a large number suburban families would rather drive to PVD, MHT, or PSM than deal with driving through the city and paying exorbitant rates for parking. Yes there is good public transit to Logan however the majority of Mass households don't live next to public transport (commuter rail or rapid transit).

May I introduce you to the car service?
 
May I introduce you to the car service?

Say you live in the Worcester area, Uber would cost 55-75 dollars to Logan airport and 55-75 dollars back. Also Logan Airport is great for urban users, however for suburban flyers they have to drive through the worst of Boston traffic to get to the airport. There is an underutilized market for these secondary airports, most people in the I-495 corridor would rather go to NH or RI rather then driving to Boston.
 
Say . Also Logan Airport is great for urban users, however for suburban flyers they have to drive through the worst of Boston traffic to get to the airport. There is an underutilized market for these secondary airports, most people in the I-495 corridor would rather go to NH or RI rather then driving to Boston.

Ive never been impressed by the traffic argument. Maybe if your flight is leaving between 10am-noon - I know that's a lot of flights but it's not most of them.

But even then it's adding at worst an hour to a journey that is almost always 6+ hours door to door.

Logan is good. Pvd and Manchester are great complimentary airports. But the traffic thing is a red herring.
 
70 dollars for a week of parking at Manchester, 90 bucks for a week of parking at Providence, FREE for a week of parking at Portsmouth.
 
Also PSM has a giant, underutilized runway, and having taken the portsmouth to logan bus frequently I can say there are tons of people going to terminal E every day.
 
PVD is expanding their runway 1500 feet with an expected completion date next year.

However PSM is closer to Europe. That may help it win the base where current generation 737s would be more feasible than further south in Providence. It's only about 100 miles but that may make enough of a difference as 737's are at the edge of their range for transatlantic flights.
 
PVD is expanding their runway 1500 feet with an expected completion date next year.

However PSM is closer to Europe. That may help it win the base where current generation 737s would be more feasible than further south in Providence. It's only about 100 miles but that may make enough of a difference as 737's are at the edge of their range for transatlantic flights.

People on airliners were discussing how much fuel gets wasted in crowded airspace, like around BOS. PSM would have the advantage of saving airlines fuel by eliminating a need to lower altitude prematurely/ not having to circle waiting for an ok to land. PVD doesn't have that same advantage.
 
The more I think about recent events with Norwegian thinking of Pease or TF Green, the more I think JetBlue executives must be celebrating this.

The door will be wide open to cherry-pick Transatlantic routes from Boston if/when JetBlue gets the A321LR's.

They will have the upper hand in so many categories: reliability, premium class, convenient airport, and feed from domestic network. TrueBlue loyalty should increase when one will be able to use TB points to go across the pond.
 
The door will be wide open to cherry-pick Transatlantic routes from Boston if/when JetBlue gets the A321LR's.

They will have the upper hand in so many categories: reliability, premium class, convenient airport, and feed from domestic network. TrueBlue loyalty should increase when one will be able to use TB points to go across the pond.

They have the upper hand in regards to US/BOS loyalty, across the pond they are an unknown.
 
They have the upper hand in regards to US/BOS loyalty, across the pond they are an unknown.

That is not entirely true. They have been codesharing with Icelandair since last year. Many visitors from Europe are on the Icelandair flights into Boston, connecting on to other US destinations via jetBlue. So they are gaining a following.
 
Looks like the Norwegian Air narrowbody flights will be at TF Green.

A job posting by OSM Aviation states crew members needed in Providence.

https://osmaviation.com/job/want-to-join-the-worlds-fastest-growing-global-airline-pvd/

Awesome, good find. If their fares are at all competitive, I'll use them out of PVD.

I flew Norwegian for the first time yesterday (LGW-BOS). Compared to other LCCs I've flown, it's among the best. I upgraded to Premium Economy because it was only about $180 more and it appeared the level of service over standard lowfare economy is quite a bit higher. So I did it and I'm glad I did.

When flying long haul on my own dime, I always opt for the equivalent of premium economy just to get a little extra space. So I had an expectation going in. Norwegian exceeded it.

In terms of price, Norwegian Premium Economy is similar to (and often less than) that of the legacy carriers. But the hard product is more akin to domestic first or even some of the pre-lie flat Business Class seats that were common in the early 2000s (I flew Lufthansa a lot back in 2003-6 and it rivaled their business hard product). 46 inches of pitch is just about at the top of the list when it comes to legroom in a premium economy section. Most airlines are closer to 36-38 inches. The seats don't recline flat, but they do have extendable leg rests and recline a great deal (enough for me to sleep comfortably). I was really surprised.

Lounge Access (South Terminal's No 1 Lounge at LGW which is more than decent), priority boarding, 2 free checked bags, and expedited security access are all included in a premium economy ticket on Norwegian. Again, all great perks (especially since I was connecting and was at LGW 4 hours before my departure). It's a great deal.

While I didn't do it, Lowfare + is also a good deal. It's comparable in terms of r/t price to what you'd find on a legacy carrier as well as what it includes (free checked back/carry ons, meals, drinks, seat selection, etc.). Where it excels is that Norwegian still doesn't charge extra for exit rows. So you can snag an exit row seat at less than what you'd pay for standard economy on, say, British Airways, or one of the main American carriers.

It didn't hurt that only 14 of the 35 premium economy seats were occupied (image taken after the cabin door was closed and just before push back- it was as full as it got):
norwegian_zpsmzq4jtre.jpg



Anyway, I'm happy to see them continuing to expand here. I hope they catch on. As LCCs go, they're really good.
 
Some interesting tidbits from a Jetblue. Boston is Jetblues most profitable market.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-jetbl ... SKBN14220H

>$300M in annual cost savings by 2020
>$65M from evaluating suppliers and automating customer experience at airports
>Will not result in fewer hours, lower pay, or furloughs
>$20M from online travel agencies, which B6 sees less value from given its increased ancillary offerings (which online agencies are unable or unwilling to sell)
>Doubling of share buy-backs due to higher than forecast ancillary revenues

http://mediaroom.jetblue.com/~/media/Fi ... 2-2016.pdf

Additionally, per the investor day presentation, I found the following tidbits interesting:

>Looking at KEF, DUB, LHR, and CDG from BOS
>Looking at CCS, PTY, GRU, EZE, SCL, LHR, and MAD from FLL
>The most profitable focus cities (by profit margin) are, from most to least: BOS, NYC, MCO, SJU, LA, FLL
>FLL profitability is expected to follow the trajectory at BOS, i.e. as the airline grows its "relevance" in the market, and is developing as expected
>B6 currently commands a revenue premium in FLL over WN and NK, and relies more heavily on local traffic
>Also looking at YYZ, IND, MKE, STL, MCI, and MSP from BOS
>Lots of domestic growth expected from FLL (to existing and new cities)
>Application of All Core A321's on JFK-MCO/FLL has freed up 3 JFK slots
>Connecting traffic is around 15% of total system wide traffic
>Mint margins are significantly higher than system wide margins; JFK-SFO slightly more profitable than JFK-LAX (18% vs 17% margin)

http://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1350065
 

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