Portland International Jetport | PWM

Cosakita18 said:
A quick look at the seat map for JetBlue's MCO flights for the next week really shows that this route is 🌟Popular🌟


Based on the seat map (an unscientific method) it looks like anywhere from an 80-95% load factor on average.
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Remember that this is school vacation week – peak of the peak demand for flights to Orlando.
 
PWMFlyer said:
I am hearing rumors of B6 offering PWM to FLL seasonal as well as SWA looking at a seasonal run to Texas, I will have wait and see if these materialize.
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FLL would be a huge benefit. Since AA axed MIA the east coast of Florida has been the biggest gap in PWM's winter "sunshine shuttle" offerings. FLL would be a big win for cruise passengers. Plus B6 funnels a lot of Caribbean / Latin American connections through FLL.
 
I've never used MIA, but I've used FLL several times, and I can say, at least as far as getting in and out of the airport goes, it's excellent. None of the terminals I've used has been sprawling, and it's crazy close to town as opposed to being way off somewhere. I do recall that the airside food choices were lacking, but that's my only complaint.
 
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Cosakita18 said:
FLL would be a huge benefit. Since AA axed MIA the east coast of Florida has been the biggest gap in PWM's winter "sunshine shuttle" offerings. FLL would be a big win for cruise passengers. Plus B6 funnels a lot of Caribbean / Latin American connections through FLL.
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I would love a direct PWM-MIA option. But then I would probably do too much lazing in South Beach each winter.
 
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I'm curious how much the cost of this would have been had it been part of the 2009-2011 build. The Jetport seems to only build and improve to meet the needs of today, and so ignores tomorrow. They need to address parking and perhaps baggage claim. Adding more parking lots in a colder or rainy climate is outdated (and cruel). A big new garage behind the Hilton Garden Inn for parking and rental cars with shuttle vans (like many other airports do) should be considered. The Portland metro region is going to continue to grow. And maybe move and then build a new control tower too. It looks kind of foolish--rinky dinky. A Master Plan falls short when there is suddenly a lot more people around with different ways of behaving. Portland's food and drink options and designs are terrible. Go check out Houston's Terminal E. Wow. A lot more revenue is coming in now. It doesn't cost relatively much money when you use creativity in design. But the outcome over time is well worth it.
 
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The new parking lot purchase was necessary in order to accommodate the cars that will be displaced in the lot to the west of the garage which will eventually allow construction to begin on the garage addition. Baggage claim improvements are expected to start later this year with the flat plate carousels being replaced with incline versions. You are correct TC, the current 2 gate expansion probably should have been part of the 2011 project but the passenger counts at that time did not justify 14 gates. The built out for this project was originally only going to include the actual attachment of the enclosed boarding walkways to the side of the present terminal. I think Paul got tired of me complaining about not utilizing the potential space above the ground level for so long he finally relented and found enough funding out of the most recent grant to pull it off. He also found money out of PWM's capital improvement funds to replace all of the carpet throughout the entire upper concourse. Replacement of 5 jetways (gates 3-7) is planned to start later this year at a cost of around 800K each. Gates 2, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are in excellent shape with a few more years of service and the jetways for 12 and 14 will be brand new once the expansion is hopefully completed in late May.
 
TC_zoid said:
I'm curious how much the cost of this would have been had it been part of the 2009-2011 build. The Jetport seems to only build and improve to meet the needs of today, and so ignores tomorrow. They need to address parking and perhaps baggage claim. Adding more parking lots in a colder or rainy climate is outdated (and cruel). A big new garage behind the Hilton Garden Inn for parking and rental cars with shuttle vans (like many other airports do) should be considered. The Portland metro region is going to continue to grow. And maybe move and then build a new control tower too. It looks kind of foolish--rinky dinky. A Master Plan falls short when there is suddenly a lot more people around with different ways of behaving. Portland's food and drink options and designs are terrible. Go check out Houston's Terminal E. Wow. A lot more revenue is coming in now. It doesn't cost relatively much money when you use creativity in design. But the outcome over time is well worth it.
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I find it ridiculous that they are going to build a new surface lot which will end up only being a temporary solution. Even the city council found it to be nearsighted. It seems everything they do in this city is a stop gap solution. They have no idea how to think big and for the future. Portland is attractive to folks now but as it grows it needs to keep up with urban design or they will find themselves losing out to cities that did think big. I spent a week at a convention in Minneapolis this summer and it was a real pleasure spending time there. The have done an amazing job with the cityscape and transportation infrastructure. The downtown is full of water features which are difficult to manage in freezing climates but they bring such an amazing ambiance to their urban spaces. Another great burgeoning town is my hometown of Bozeman, Montana. Developments are laid out ahead of time and landscaping standards are strictly adhered to. There, most of the infrastructure is put in place BEFORE homes and apartments are built. As far as the eye can see are hundreds of acres of land to be developed with utilities, streets, curbing, boulevards planted with shade trees, concrete sidewalks and public parks just waiting for their new inhabitants to arrive.
 
PWM conducted a Master Plan required by the FAA to look at everything and base future projects on forecasts. Well, this is why I hate masterplans. For FY24, Enplanements for PWM was 1,224,063. FAA forecasted 1,187,969 for 2035.
Coffman forecasted in the high range at 1,366,164 in 2035. We are 10 years out and we are 142K off the mark. The expansion was also based that the passenger numbers would be that going into 2035. The plan should have been to have a total of 20 gates. Plus no one expected 9 airlines vs 5 when the plan was conducted.
I heard from someone who works as a controller, that the ATC tower built in 1975, if moved or rebuilt would lose control(airspace) to Boston ATC except for local control at the airport several miles out
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As a side note, PWM had to setup 200 parking spots on the tarmac near NEA due to lack of parking during Feb Vac. Another, PWM act was caught with its pants down. Always a knee jerk reactions, but its the City of Portland. Paul B does the best with the funding he has and i credit him that they are probably the only city dept with a surplus or rainy day fund!!!!
 
PlantArch said:
I find it ridiculous that they are going to build a new surface lot which will end up only being a temporary solution. Even the city council found it to be nearsighted. It seems everything they do in this city is a stop gap solution. They have no idea how to think big and for the future. Portland is attractive to folks now but as it grows it needs to keep up with urban design or they will find themselves losing out to cities that did think big. I spent a week at a convention in Minneapolis this summer and it was a real pleasure spending time there. The have done an amazing job with the cityscape and transportation infrastructure. The downtown is full of water features which are difficult to manage in freezing climates but they bring such an amazing ambiance to their urban spaces. Another great burgeoning town is my hometown of Bozeman, Montana. Developments are laid out ahead of time and landscaping standards are strictly adhered to. There, most of the infrastructure is put in place BEFORE homes and apartments are built. As far as the eye can see are hundreds of acres of land to be developed with utilities, streets, curbing, boulevards planted with shade trees, concrete sidewalks and public parks just waiting for their new inhabitants to arrive.
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Remember the limited funding sources the city has available. The only tax revenue they have is from direct taxes on their citizens: property and excise taxes. Grant funding and state revenue sharing are mercurial. The Legislature takes very seriously the state constitution's mandate that it never surrender the power of taxation. That's why proposals to grant local option taxing powers rarely even make it to the chamber floors; they typically die with an ONTP in committee.

Also, re: Bozeman, how many of those developments are HOA communities?
 
Check this out. The older part of Terminal E in Houston (George Bush Int.) had these bland wide walkways so they put this bar and food area in to give it a bit more pop (and to make more money, of course). As airport bars go, this one is damn cool (pictures are from 7am so that's why it's not busy). I'll bet the vendor paid for it all too. In architectural interior design, a great way to make a space more cozy is with ceiling suspended decorations or baffles. If people were sitting with thirty feet of nothing but dull white space above them, it wouldn't be as inviting. Next time I'm there I'll grab some shots from the new part.

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Any ideas like this, send them to Paul B. he enjoys our group discussions.
 
PlantArch said:
I find it ridiculous that they are going to build a new surface lot which will end up only being a temporary solution. Even the city council found it to be nearsighted. It seems everything they do in this city is a stop gap solution. They have no idea how to think big and for the future. Portland is attractive to folks now but as it grows it needs to keep up with urban design or they will find themselves losing out to cities that did think big. I spent a week at a convention in Minneapolis this summer and it was a real pleasure spending time there. The have done an amazing job with the cityscape and transportation infrastructure. The downtown is full of water features which are difficult to manage in freezing climates but they bring such an amazing ambiance to their urban spaces. Another great burgeoning town is my hometown of Bozeman, Montana. Developments are laid out ahead of time and landscaping standards are strictly adhered to. There, most of the infrastructure is put in place BEFORE homes and apartments are built. As far as the eye can see are hundreds of acres of land to be developed with utilities, streets, curbing, boulevards planted with shade trees, concrete sidewalks and public parks just waiting for their new inhabitants to arrive.
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Must be nice! Landscaping and beautification is such a low priority in this state.....it has always bugged the hell out of me....and always will!
 
TC_zoid said:
Check this out. The older part of Terminal E in Houston (George Bush Int.) had these bland wide walkways so they put this bar and food area in to give it a bit more pop (and to make more money, of course). As airport bars go, this one is damn cool (pictures are from 7am so that's why it's not busy). I'll bet the vendor paid for it all too. In architectural interior design, a great way to make a space more cozy is with ceiling suspended decorations or baffles. If people were sitting with thirty feet of nothing but dull white space above them, it wouldn't be as inviting. Next time I'm there I'll grab some shots from the new part.

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Oh boy I have a screed on this. Thats an OTG operated terminal - they're a major airport hospitality operator. They tend to put in some fairly dramatic things to the terminals at the airports they operate. They started out tied-up with United, so you also see their properties in DEN, IAH, ORD and especially Terminal C at EWR, but they also have substantial operations at JFK/LGA, PHL, DCA and MSP. The easy way to ID a OTG operated concession used to be the iPad / card swipe at every seat, which they've finally given up on. The last year they were in place they did nothing except display a QR code - you have to order via device, even for the takeout places... anyways.

There's two catches for the fancy mid-concouse designs though - notice what's in this photo from when the Terminal was new that isn't in the next. Same gates, just photographed from different ends - the moving walkways are now gone. Those OTG resturant foot prints aren't an accident - a significant portion of them replaced moving walkways, using the mechanical wells for services that support the kitchens and everything else. Higher and better use of space? For revenue definitely, but for someone trying to get to their connection, the majority of flyers at a hub like IAH? Probably not.
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The other catch is the literal price you have to pay - its part of the "premiumification" of air travel. Lounges, restaurants... it's all going higher end. Look at what they're not putting into the spaces they control - traditional fast food vendors, dunkins, etc and other traditionally affordable options. The food court with the Wendy's? Notably a space they don't control. OTG firmly believes in the ability to make money from the captive market that is an airport.

Sticking with IAH terminal E, Custom Burger is their quick serve burger concept, where it's $14.49 for a cheeseburger without drink or side. The Wendy's is $12 for a combo meal. At Q, the restaurant you showed, a burger and fries is $23, and a side of baked beans is $10. Their pricing runs true across all of the airport terminals operated by OTG - Infamously, a single beer at EWR cost (in 2021) $27, prompting a PANYNJ audit - they have a "street pricing" policy, but you know, just pick the 5th avenue hotels as your peers. The average consumer, not the billion dollar corporation, is fooring the bill for that design - its "disneyfied" just so you don't feel that bad about spending $50 for a burger and a drink. Admittedly, their food is generally genuinely somewhat better than the majority of airport crap. But none of it is really local - Its all invented in a NYC conference room. I'd rather have some local chains, even if they forgo the dramatic design.
 
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The new terminal at La Guardia takes the cake with food costs. The typical over-processed tuna fish sandwich in a plastic to-go container: $24.95. A bottle of water? $14.95. I have a lot of mixed reviews on this terminal, but it does beat the old one with its 7-foot-high ceilings and water-stained ceiling panels. So close you can smell the odors.
 
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January Passenger stats have been posted on the PWM website. FY2025 is starting off on a good note. 979 passengers short of the January all time record in 2019.
Jan
2025​
122,970.00
2024​
102,798.00
2023​
98,727.00
2022​
85,701.00
2021​
39,537.00
2019​
123,949.00
2018​
108,340.00
2025​
MonthEnplanementsDeplanementsTotal Passengers
January63,284.0059,686.00122,970.00
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Total63,284.0059,686.00122,970.00
 
PWMFlyer, do you think PWM will exceed last years record breaking numbers? I'm cautiously optimistic and feel the jetport may be close to reaching its maximum potential until the FIS facility is built and some international flights are added to help boost enplanements and maintain the upward swing. The summer and fall months look very similar to last year with only a few route and equipment changes on the negative side but a few add ons along with the arrival of Avelo on the positive side.
 
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