Portland International Jetport | PWM

TC_zoid said:
Agreed. I offered to license and donate one of Maine Imaging's hi-rez low aerial shots to present for passengers (up to 16' x 9') to see coming down the escalator to baggage. They never called me back. Most or many airports do this kind of thing, don't they? That first impression? The image I like was taken in the fall of the Portland Head light in the foreground, the downtown skyline in the midground, and the White Mountains with snow on them in the background. Makes Portland look like Shangri-La. It was a telephoto shot so it's all kind of scrunched together but looks fantastic despite. Who will pay for the print and mounting? We could create a GoFundMe page... or do nothing. Currently, the first thing passengers see when they come down the escalator is a life-size soiled taxidermy moose. How many moose do you see walking around Portland and its suburbs? Most Mainers have never seen one. Why is it so important? Portland is a far cry from Greenville.
Click to expand...

Portland is one of the only cities in the country that you can get a shot like this....Seattle, Los Angeles and San Diego being the others.
 
This photo makes Portland Maine look like a mini Portland OR. Very impressive
1522493750230.jpeg
 
The goal is to get him (Dave) to take this exact shot (though wider) this fall to include 201 Federal. He would take it in 61 megapixels of which is
enough rez (and more) for a billboard. What city in the U.S. can boast something like this? Sure beats that moose.

Untitled 580.jpg
 
So it appears that the FIS facility, 2 additional jetways and connecting bridge for Gates 12 and 13, a replacement jetway, new restrooms and surface parking for 800 vehicles are closer to becoming a reality. Approval for the funding looks very promising but Paul Bradbury told me this morning that the money is not yet available but does expect to see progress this summer. Good Day Maine also had a story this morning which discussed the future goal of international service to Greenland, Iceland and the Yucatan peninsula, the arrival of Breeze Airways and the ability of our main runway to accommodate newer aircraft flying to those destinations. PWMFlyer and NR2Portland, you were both correct in your assessment of our primary runway being able to support longer distances from Portland with the advances that have been made with modern aircraft. (y)
 
FIS opportunities
Frontier is interested in SJU, CUN, SDQ, MBJ from PWM. Also attracting Canadians to utilize the Jetport. A321 Utilized aircraft.
Icelandic Air offering service to Iceland then to Europe and Greenland- 737 Max aircraft. Build on our Eimskip relationship.
AirCanada-Toronto, Montreal-Seasonal OOB draw
Westjet-
Porter Airlines-Toronto
Charters to Cancun or Jamaica?
Opportunities for Airlines to save money on landing fees, etc at PWM vs utilizing Boston with higher costs (International)
Marketing .....
Jetport needs to think about using C&J out of Portsmouth to cut into BOS drainage. Alot of travelers I have heard from people who live in the seacoast area use Boston due to the bus, if offered to Portland, they would use PWM instead.
Find an operator to operate Bangor to PWM, stops in Augusta, Lewiston bus express.?
Concord Coach(Subsidized) has no interest other than fueling Massport.
 
If the Jetport had its own equivalent of a "Logan Express" bus connecting the jetport directly with park-and-rides in Lewiston-Auburn, Brunswick, Saco-Biddeford and Augusta I think they would be able to capture a lot of passengers who are currently taking Concord Coach to get to Logan.

Sure flights out of Logan might be a bit cheaper...and Logan has many more direct flights than the Jetport...but by the time I buy a bus ticket or gas + parking I've negated most of my saving on airfare and by the time I spend several hours getting to Logan and waiting through their long security lines I could have flown out of the jetport and already been at my connecting airport in Atlanta / Chicago / New York / DC / Charlotte / Detroit.

I remember at one point the jetport had an advertisement featuring a jetlagged traveler arriving at Logan late at night and then struggling to find his car . The add ended with the narrator giving a sarcastic "enjoy your drive back to Maine" I think that's a good publicity approach for the jetport to take.
 
Last edited:
Cosakita18 said:
If the Jetport had its own equivalent of a "Logan Express" bus connecting the jetport directly with park-and-rides in Lewiston-Auburn, Brunswick, Saco-Biddeford and Augusta I think they would be able to capture a lot of passengers who are currently taking Concord Coach to get to Logan.

Sure flights out of Logan might be a bit cheaper...and Logan has many more direct flights than the Jetport...but by the time I buy a bus ticket or gas + parking I've negated most of my saving on airfare and by the time I spend several hours getting to Logan and waiting through their long security lines I could have flown out of the jetport and already been at my connecting airport in Atlanta / Chicago / New York / DC / Charlotte / Detroit.

I remember at one point the jetport had an advertisement featuring a jetlagged traveler arriving at Logan late at night and then struggling to find his car . The add ended with the narrator giving a sarcastic "enjoy your drive back to Maine" I think that's a good publicity approach for the jetport to take.
Click to expand...

The draft Transit Together report features a reworked route 1 which will replace the 5 as the bus route servicing the Jetport. I’m really excited about this potential change. First, the frequency of buses going to and from the Jetport would significantly increase. Second, the 1 bus would also service the PTC and they’re proposing a stop on the north side of the station and opening Sewall St to Thompson’s Point Rd thus eliminating any lengthy turnarounds the bus would otherwise have to make.

The proposed start and end times of service leave a lot to be desired (service would end at 6:30 PM on Sunday!) but being able to catch a lift to and from the Jetport every 45 minutes would be a huge improvement over the sporadic service offered by the 5 today. Notably, the 5 doesn’t even service the PTC, you have to walk a few blocks to catch it.

I understand this isn’t what you’re proposing but it makes the connection much easier if you’re using the Downeaster or BREEZ to get to or from points north.
 
Is there such a thing as a hovercraft/duck boat? Something like a duck boat would make an ideal transfer between PTC and the Jetport, you would have to extend Yellow Bird Road down to the water and make sure no one exits the craft on the secure side of the fences. But I think it would have to be an amphibious hovercraft because the mud flats are really shallow, and I imagine climbing the hill would be really hard without wheels.

That's my crazy transit pitch of the month.
 
Cosakita18 said:
If the Jetport had its own equivalent of a "Logan Express" bus connecting the jetport directly with park-and-rides in Lewiston-Auburn, Brunswick, Saco-Biddeford and Augusta I think they would be able to capture a lot of passengers who are currently taking Concord Coach to get to Logan.

Sure flights out of Logan might be a bit cheaper...and Logan has many more direct flights than the Jetport...but by the time I buy a bus ticket or gas + parking I've negated most of my saving on airfare and by the time I spend several hours getting to Logan and waiting through their long security lines I could have flown out of the jetport and already been at my connecting airport in Atlanta / Chicago / New York / DC / Charlotte / Detroit.

I remember at one point the jetport had an advertisement featuring a jetlagged traveler arriving at Logan late at night and then struggling to find his car . The add ended with the narrator giving a sarcastic "enjoy your drive back to Maine" I think that's a good publicity approach for the jetport to take.
Click to expand...

Parking at Logan is like buying an additional ticket, and you can't arrive at the airport 5 minutes before your flight starts boarding :)
 
Cosakita18 said:
If the Jetport had its own equivalent of a "Logan Express" bus connecting the jetport directly with park-and-rides in Lewiston-Auburn, Brunswick, Saco-Biddeford and Augusta I think they would be able to capture a lot of passengers who are currently taking Concord Coach to get to Logan.

Sure flights out of Logan might be a bit cheaper...and Logan has many more direct flights than the Jetport...but by the time I buy a bus ticket or gas + parking I've negated most of my saving on airfare and by the time I spend several hours getting to Logan and waiting through their long security lines I could have flown out of the jetport and already been at my connecting airport in Atlanta / Chicago / New York / DC / Charlotte / Detroit.

I remember at one point the jetport had an advertisement featuring a jetlagged traveler arriving at Logan late at night and then struggling to find his car . The add ended with the narrator giving a sarcastic "enjoy your drive back to Maine" I think that's a good publicity approach for the jetport to take.
Click to expand...

The biggest and only reason I use Logan.....direct flights. In this day and age.....I want to get on a plane and know when I take off.....I will arrive at my destination. Connecting sucks.
 
matt.greeson said:
Is this a real photo? (Also, does anyone have the hi-res?)
Click to expand...

I was also very skeptical at first, but then I did some research: it's only 67 miles from that vantage point to the top of Mount Washington. Also, if you look at the perspective, the Presidential Range is aligned correctly, for a bearing that is almost exactly northwest. Also, there are other examples of downtown skylines that just don't "look right" in terms of having staggering mountain ranges as backdrops, for example, this one of LA, with the peak of the San Gabriels (Mount San Antonio) rising 40 miles to the northeast.

Finally, this is an awesome website for revealing what mountain ranges are visible from a certain elevation:

https://heywhatsthat.com/

If you set your coordinates on downtown Portland, and choose 500 feet above sea level as an elevation (a number I chose based on what might be the elevation of the picture), you will see that Mount Washington is visible from that height above Portland's harbor.
 
mainejeff said:
The biggest and only reason I use Logan.....direct flights. In this day and age.....I want to get on a plane and know when I take off.....I will arrive at my destination. Connecting sucks.
Click to expand...

100% this. It's hard to overestimate the value of eliminating connections which not only add a lot of time to a trip (or stress if the connection is tight), but drastically increase the odds of something going wrong and stranding you somewhere. But even if something does go wrong out of BOS (i.e. your flight is canceled), the chances of being rebooked on another nonstop or finding suitable alternate routing options are much higher. Cheaper fares are nice and the saving can add up enough to negate the cost of gas/tolls/parking if more than one person is traveling. But the real draw is the ability to avoid connections. I can (and do) literally walk to Logan, but I've actually driven to JFK for nonstops on some international trips.

It seems like Breeze is taking this into account with their approach. They're using the A220 to pair smaller markets that previously haven't been viable with older regional jets or larger aircraft. Better transit connections to PWM would be great, but the bigger appeal for passengers will be affordable nonstop flights to places like Charleston or Norfolk which previously required connections at LGA, JFK, PHL, DCA, CLT, etc. They'll probably have a better shot at TPA with the a220 than Frontier did too.
 
With multiple articles or news stories talking about international flights, the big arrival of Breeze, and terminal expansion, I’ve done a little SketchUp terminal expansion design. Here are a couple angles of the idea. I think if Breeze does well and they invest in their own gates instead of using the city owned gate (5 or 6) and the customs are built, an expansion like this is possible within the next 10 years!
F87FD2CB-7B22-4E95-9F55-D095762D166E.jpeg

6A7E0568-6564-41FE-8653-2A18CB6AA930.jpeg

E68328E9-149C-4BA7-9C2B-D0D0EEAB61FD.jpeg

0CC78274-A1D7-4792-9B42-7285E3F7147C.jpeg

029D24B1-3D73-4F90-A98C-FFD40842A5EB.jpeg
1ACDAFB4-F465-462F-AA89-CAB0E8C61793.jpeg


When entering the extension of the terminal you immediately get local businesses like an LL Bean store and Aroma Joes coffee and as you keep going down the concourse you will see chains like subway and Dunkin. There are two drink/smoothie/restaurant bars in the middle of the hallway that could be great spots for some local or national brands. Also had to ad some marketing for Breeze!
Let me know what you think and if any changes should be made. I’ve been in communication with Mr. Bradbury in the past and may send this idea to him as well!
 
Last edited:
They're gonna need to invest in better deicing infrastructure. I learned my lesson this winter with huge deicing related delays on multiple occasions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top