I flew in and out of PWM the other week, and I will say I had never seen that terminal busier! Nearly every gate occupied in the afternoon and the crowds in the gate area/hold rooms to match. Lines and waits at Burger King, Shipyard, Linda Bean's and Starbucks. I am not sure what the peak hour capacity the airport was designed for, but it had to have been at or near it. The other interesting thing was the size of the aircraft at the gates. We came in on a packed 190-200 seat A-321 next to larger version 737's lining the ramp. Gone were the numerous regional jets that used to occupy the gates. I get that the demand is seasonal, but Jetport management has done an admirable job on air service development and airlines are upguaging aircraft to meet demand without additional flights. Still curious to see if Frontier pulls out and if Breeze keeps trying new routes to gain a foothold in the market, so I'm always interested to see what insight our insiders on this site hear.
Random impressions: The stuffed wildlife coming down to baggage claim seems a bit campy, but plenty of people I noticed took their picture in front of it as their first impression of arriving in Maine. The airport also does a good job of letting you know you've arrived in Maine based on advertisement and messaging, which is a nice change from much of the homogenization you see at other airports where you're not sure where you are.
The ticketing, security checkpoint (especially), and higher number gate areas still provide a favorable impression of the Portland region. The rest of the terminal definitely shows its age in a number of areas as some posts here have pointed out, from the bathrooms in poor condition to countless ceiling tiles being discolored from likely water leakage. I felt bad for all of the United passengers crammed into the Gate 1-3 corner. We've written about the possible mural improvements coming into baggage claim enough to have it noted.
The FIS will come when funding comes. Very curious to see what improvements can be done to the baggage claim. Anyone know if the plan is to add another baggage carousel and raise the roof (if possible) to give a more open feel? Would they use the existing baggage claim space, or would they actually build onto the end of the building toward the air traffic control tower to expand?