Logan Airport Flights and Airlines Discussion

[czsz]

^ I don't have a good excuse beyond extreme cheapness and not wanting to go all the way into Tokyo to find a good budget place to stay when I only had something like an 8 hour layover (would have involved more transit/hotel bureaucracy than sleep).

For what it's worth, there's a whole subculture devoted to sleeping in airports. This website is a good place to start:

http://www.sleepinginairports.net/

Oh, back on topic -- here's a big writeup/video of the inaugural Boston-Tokyo flight on Mashable:

http://mashable.com/2012/04/24/dreamliner-787-boston-asia/

 

[blade_bltz]

There's always the ubiquitous 24/7 manga cafe. Private booths with enough space to curl up in, showers, and internet service. Narita city would have plenty.

I've never had the (mis)fortune of doing it myself, but it's something of a gaijin rite of passage...

For reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_cafe_refugee

 

[czsz]

Yeah, sadly, I hadn't heard of the net cafe refugee trend before I was in Japan. Would have been interesting to try (and less claustrophobic than a capsule hotel).

 

[stellarfun]

Globe article today said Southwest will introduce non-stops between Nashville and Boston, starting this summer.

 

[BosDevelop]

Globe article today said Southwest will introduce non-stops between Nashville and Boston, starting this summer.

That's good news. I'd love to see Southwest add some Logan-->Florida routes (perhaps RSW, MCO and/or PBI for starters) to help keep JetBlue's prices in check.

 

[mass88]

It was also confirmed on Southwest's website. Starting Aug 12, 1 daily non-stop flight. It's about time Boston got a non-stop link back to Nashville. It's timed perfectly to connect on to over a dozen flights in Nashville as well.

 

[kmp1284]

That's good news. I'd love to see Southwest add some Logan-->Florida routes (perhaps RSW, MCO and/or PBI for starters) to help keep JetBlue's prices in check.

They already serve Fort Myers and Orlando through their AirTran subsidiary. With the Nashville announcement they'll be cutting Phoenix.

 

[kmp1284]

Not surprisingly with the winter schedule American's pulling the plug on the daylight flight to Heathrow. I'd expect the red-eye to linger until the end of 2013.

 

[erikyow]

Yeah, that's not a big surprise. With the AA/BA joint venture, BA's morning flight can absorb AA's capacity. The analogy of rolling a bowling ball through the cabin is fairly appropriate to describe BA's morning flight during the winter (I assume it's much the same over at AA). Additionally, the BA flight, by virtue of arriving into Terminal 5, is better suited for the limited onward connections at that time of night than AA is in Terminal 3.

 

[kmp1284]

It couldn't have been doing well. The last time I was on that flight last fall there might have been about 50 people in coach and business was two thirds full with probably half of those being upgrades. The only thing it had going for it was corporate contracts and with more companies forcing people aft those contracts aren't as lucrative as they once were.

 

[Lrfox]

I took the JAL flight on the 787 from Tokyo to Boston earlier this month. I booked through American (my departure flight was JAL9 out of ORD) who I guess has a codeshare agreement with JAL. I was originally supposed to return from Tokyo on AA154 (equipment change at ORD) but I called and for not so much more, I was able to switch my flight to the non-stop. Just figured I'd share my overall impressions of the experience:

Aircraft:
I flew a JAL 777-300 over there from Chicago so I have a good reference point for comparisons. The 787 is neat looking and very distinct from the outside. Narita has two nice outdoor obvservation decks and the JAL 787 was the only one I saw (ANA has a few but I didn't see any). I was also hoping to see an A380 (LH flies one to Narita), but no luck either. The windows are noticeably larger than other large commercial aircraft. I wasn't at a window seat so I didn't really get a chance to play with them. The cabin was nice, but there was little difference between the economy seats on the 787 than on the 777. Maybe a LITTLE more legroom on the 787, but not much (JAL doesn't give you much to work with there). The cabin pressurization is supposedly different in the 787. Didn't notice much difference, but I tend to do well with keeping hydrated anyway. The lighting was pleasant, but not groundbreaking. Virgin America uses it on their A320s. Cabin noise was slightly lower.

Overall, the 787 was neat, but I would hardly call it a novelty. I'd imagine that anyone who wasn't into aviation at all wouldn't be able to tell that that much is different about it. JAL still hypes it up (They have 787 post cards for all the passengers), but there's not TOO much for the passenger to notice. The real difference is in the technology, I guess.

One thing I like about JAL (whom I've never flown before): They're really laxed with the seatbelt sign. It went off about 2-4 minutes after take off and didn't come back on until we were on final. This was the case both ways. It makes a 12 hour flight much more manageable when you know you can move at any time.

 

[mass88]

I believe ANA runs their 787 flights out of Haneda and not Narita. That's probably why you did not see any.

How was the load on your flight from Tokyo to Boston?

 

[Lrfox]

I believe ANA runs their 787 flights out of Haneda and not Narita. That's probably why you did not see any.

How was the load on your flight from Tokyo to Boston?

That would explain it.

We were almost 100% I saw two empty seats in the very last row. Mostly Japanese, by the way. About 80-85%.

 

[Equilibria]

This could go here or on the Silver Line thread... Massport has made it free to board at Logan.

http://articles.boston.com/2012-06-...-airports-council-international-logan-airport

It won't be free the other way, but some have already pointed out that this is probably more about speeding the boarding process for tourists who miss the fare machine than anything else. It's also interesting that not paying at the airport also makes the subway free once you get to South Station, since the SL is inside the fare zone.

 

[whighlander]

This could go here or on the Silver Line thread... Massport has made it free to board at Logan.

http://articles.boston.com/2012-06-...-airports-council-international-logan-airport

It won't be free the other way, but some have already pointed out that this is probably more about speeding the boarding process for tourists who miss the fare machine than anything else. It's also interesting that not paying at the airport also makes the subway free once you get to South Station, since the SL is inside the fare zone.

Equilib -- In part this is a potential T bailout -- in addition to assuming the operating costs -- Massport is paying the T for the trial of the SilverLine Logan to SouthStation

if its successful -- I'd bet that the Blue Line at Airport Station will get "freed" as well with some poor bloke going home to London helping to pay for a local access to the T through his passenger fees

 

[saulblum]

if its successful -- I'd bet that the Blue Line at Airport Station will get "freed" as well with some poor bloke going home to London helping to pay for a local access to the T through his passenger fees

Riders don't pay a fare on the Blue Line shuttle, so there is no issue of buses idling as tourists fumble to figure out how to pay, as riders already on the bus and going to their terminal get antsy about the time. Tourists figuring out how to pay at the Blue Line stop don't inconvenience other riders, since there are several fare gates.

 

[Tombstoner]

Overall, the 787 was neat, but I would hardly call it a novelty. I'd imagine that anyone who wasn't into aviation at all wouldn't be able to tell that that much is different about it.

Thanks for this report. I am a bit disappointed that the experience wasn't any more significant improvement over the status quo.

My butt is on these planes in cattle class so often I really need to hang on to the illusion that the experience might be getting better.

 

[mass88]

Equilib -- In part this is a potential T bailout -- in addition to assuming the operating costs -- Massport is paying the T for the trial of the SilverLine Logan to SouthStation

if its successful -- I'd bet that the Blue Line at Airport Station will get "freed" as well with some poor bloke going home to London helping to pay for a local access to the T through his passenger fees

He will not even notice. The airlines would blend it into the cost of a ticket. Besides, $2 is hardly a large amount.

It always amazes me how people just either miss, or ignore the Charlie machines located in the terminals. They could easily get their tickets/passes before they get on the bus.

 

[whighlander]

He will not even notice. The airlines would blend it into the cost of a ticket. Besides, $2 is hardly a large amount.

It always amazes me how people just either miss, or ignore the Charlie machines located in the terminals. They could easily get their tickets/passes before they get on the bus.

I'll keep it mind -- next time I'm wandering around Piers Park -- just a brief walk to Logan and I can go home for free -- using the $2.00 to buy a bigger coffee at Dunkin Donuts

 

[Peterborough]

Work in the aviation field (sorta), doubt that airlines will end up paying for the Silver Line fare in the end, more likely is that MassPort is just eating it in the meantime with the idea that easier to get into and our of Logan, more desirable the airport is, the more money they make off departure/landing fees regardless.

With Southwest/AirTran combo TF Green will probably have 50% fewer flights into it 5 years from now even with the Commuter Rail connection. Logan actually now has almost as many flights as it did in the early 2000s pre-bankruptcies and 9-11, so MassPort itself is doing fairly well in terms of Logan. JetBlue continues to grow, and although US Air and American have pulled down capacity, Delta is adding some back now in addition to even more international flights.

Peterborough
http://www.bostontipster.com