Londonderry News

If that brings to mind a Little Golden Book your mom or dad read to you as a youngster it should.  You remember the one, it was all about an engine that if it could, just believe it would, it could top the hill to complete it’s mission.  All along saying, “I think I can, I think I can!”  What a fitting story for the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and the successful growth it has enjoyed!  After all it is also the economic engine for central New England!

In the 1980′s travelers parking over night were greeted with a envelope to pay $1.00 a night on the honor system.  After placing your money in the envelope you put it into red steel boxes located throughout the parking lot.  Jetways were a dream and luggage was handed through a slot in the wall directly from the ramp passengers just walked in to the terminal on.

We talk a lot about the airport in this story.  The airport identifier MHT is used here and refers to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.

The Airport

In calendar year ’08, Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) served approximately 3.7 million passengers and processed 180,000,000 pounds of air cargo.  These numbers are down from historical highs which were achieved back in 2005.  In 2005 the airport passed the 4 million passenger point, today’s numbers are steady and still represent a strong air service market.

MHT is the largest commercial service airport in northern New England and is currently ranked 66th in the US (in terms of passenger activity).  MHT is also the third largest cargo facility in New England (following Logan and Bradley) and handles more cargo per year than Providence, Burlington, Portland and Bangor combined!

A recent Economic Impact Study conducted by Jacobs Consultancy, Inc. revealed that MHT contributed $1.24 billion dollars to the local economy and attributed to 1900 on-airport and 1900 off-airport jobs.  The annual economic impact of these jobs, in terms of payroll, was in excess of $483 million.  In addition, air travelers to the region spent approximately $458 per trip which lead to an annual economic impact of $752.8 million.   For more details on this report read “Manchester-Boston Regional Airport 2008 Economic Impact Study” here in the Londonderry Hometown Online News.

Although the growth has slowed from previous years, it is anticipated that the airport will contribute nearly $1.5 billion dollars to the local economy by 2015.

The Travelers

Who are they, where do they come from and what type of travel brings them to this airport in New England?

Illustration of Mack's Farmstand with Londonderry's Eco Park near Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. Users of Manchester-Boston Regional Airport 52% leisure, 48% business travel.

Currently, 52% of the air travelers use MHT for leisure travel, 48% for business.  They come to MHT from various parts of the region and from across the country.  The breakdown of MHT passenger origins (2008) are as follows:

NH 26%; MA 22%; ME 6%; VT 2%; 44% come from outside of the four state northern New England Region.

The number of passengers arriving from outside of the four state region has increased from 32% in 2002 to 44% in 2008.  This is due in large part to the name change which added Boston as a well known geographic locator.  Travelers looking to access the Greater Boston metropolitan area and/or northern New England can now find the airport more easily on the Internet and have a better alternative to access the thriving business centers which lie between Manchester and Boston.

Top 25 Markets

As airport management develops the regions market for air service, they look closely at where our travelers are currently flying to and from, and what the trends for future travel might be.  In addition, they closely monitor air service developments at neighboring airports to see if passengers are “leaking” away from our market.  This information allows management at the field to better understand the decision making process made by air travelers.  It also provides valuable feedback for discussions with airline schedule planning and marketing personnel.

Currently, the top 25 destinations for MHT travelers are as follows:

1.) BWI  2.) MCO  3.) PHL  4.) TPA  5.) MDW 6.) FLL  7.) LAS  8.) PHX  9.) ORD  10.) DTW  11.) CLE  12.)  LAX  13.) RSW 14.) DEN 15.) RDU  16.) BNA 17.) SAN  18.) JAX  19.) STL  20.) PBI  21.) SEA   22.) PIT  23.) IND 24.) DFW  25.) DCA

For a complete list of airport codes go to www.world-airport-codes.com

The price of flights

Seats fill up on Airlines departing Manchester-Boston Regional Airport

What, if anything, the airport can do to ensure that ticket prices remain on par with those being offered at other nearby airports?  Back in 1985, American Airlines launched the first airline “revenue management” system in order to compete more effectively with the low cost carriers which evolved after deregulation.  This process of pricing seats has grown in popularity and is now used in one form or another by most airlines and many other companies throughout the travel industry.

The challenge in employing revenue management systems is to sell the right resource, to the right customer, at the right price.  In order to do this, very sophisticated computer models are used to establish the right mix of pricing options.  When the optimum mix is achieved, the result will be minimal losses in inventory (empty seats) and maximum profitability.

So if you’ve ever wondered why you paid more (or less) for your seat than the person sitting next to you, it’s because of the airlines continued reliance on revenue management systems.  And, because these systems are designed to understand, anticipate, and even influence consumer behavior, the output (prices for seats being offered for sale) varies continuously with demand.

Airline operating costs and competition also have a significant impact on pricing.  Although we all would prefer to see low fares and parity with other airports, this is a decision which is influenced by revenue management systems and made by the individual airlines.

The Airlines

Back in the 1980′s and before when travelers passed through the Ammon Terminal, the airport had few air carriers.  Most were turbo prop aircraft until United and USair came to the field and provided jet service to Chicago and the North East.  Today MHT has 55 Daily flights connecting to thousands of airports world wide.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines remains the largest air carrier at MHT and currently handles approximately 57% of the annual passenger traffic.

Their flight schedule varies from time to time which is partially a result of their increased focus on improving aircraft efficiency.

Currently, Southwest offers 24 flights per day (on average) to the following destinations:

BWI – 9; MDW -3; PHL-6; MCO-3; TPA-1; PHX-1; LAS -1; FLL-seasonal

Although Southwest has begun service in Boston, airport management is continuing to work closely with various segments of the Southwest Airlines management team i.e., marketing, schedule planning, properties and local management to ensure that our fares remain comparable to Boston and our market is adequately served.

For more information on Southwest Airlines flights visit their website.

US Airways

US Airways is the 2nd largest carrier at MHT and currently handles approximately 18% of the passenger traffic at the airport.

US Airways operates 16 flights per day (on average) from MHT and serves the following cities:

CLT- 2; DCA-3; LGA-4; PHL-7

For more information go to the  US Airways website.

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines recently acquired Northwest Airlines and currently operates four flights per day to the following cities:

ATL-1; DTW-3

Great news from Delta!  Delta Airlines recently announced two new flights from MHT which will add capacity to two popular destinations (Atlanta and Detroit).

Beginning December 18, 2009, Delta will add an additional 70 seat regional jet to Detroit.  The flight will depart MHT at 6:00 a.m. and will offer great connectivity from DTW to flight banks departing for the west, southwest and international destinations.

Also, beginning January 6, 2010, MHT air travelers will have a “Better way to travel” to Atlanta!  Delta airlines has announced that they will change their flight schedule to better accommodate travelers.  Delta will shift their 70 seat regional jet – currently a 3:00 p.m. departure – to a 6:45 a.m. departure which will return at 11:15 p.m.

Due to some last minute fleet schedule changes, Delta has advised that the MD-88 aircraft which was scheduled to begin service here in January has been moved back to spring or early summer.  The airport is working closely with Delta on this new service initiative and hope to get the MD-88 back on line as soon as possible.

Delta MD88 Brings First Class Service to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport

In the spring or summer of 2010 Delta adds a MD-88 at MHT it will provide 50% more capacity and better connectivity to Atlanta.  It will also provide a two-class cabin with fourteen first class seats!  A great enhancement and welcome addition to the frequent flying business travelers and/or leisure travelers looking to upgrade.

For more information on Delta/Northwest flights  visit the website.

Continental Airlines

Continental Airlines currently operates eight flights per day from MHT to the following cities:

CLE- 4; EWR- 4

Continental utilizes the Embraer 145 regional jet at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport

Continental utilizes the Embraer 145 regional jet as well as the Q-400 turboprop to provide service to these destinations.

Continental/Express Jet also provides ground handling services for Air Canada.

For more information visit the Continental Airlines website.

United Airlines

United Airlines has been regularly serving MHT longer than any other carrier.  United first arrived at MHT back in 1984 and recently celebrated 25 years of service to our community.

Although United-Manchester has performed very well over the years, the company is now working to reduce capacity and streamline its operations.  Therefore, airports across the country that have three or fewer mainline United flights will eventually see those flights shift to one of United’s regional express partners.  Unfortunately, that strategy lead to the loss of our mainline United service (two flights a day to Chicago O’Hare).

The upside is that United Express will continue to serve the same cities (Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles) with the same frequency i.e., three flights daily to Dulles and three daily to O’Hare (on average).

For more information on United Express flights visit the United website.

Air Canada

Air Canada operates three flights per day from MHT to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

The flights are currently operated by Air Canada regional affiliate, Air Georgian, utilizing Beech 1900 aircraft.

Ground handling services for the Air Canada flights are provided by Continental Airlines/Express Jet employees.

For more information on Air Canada flights go to www.aircanada.com

Clearly Manchester-Boston Regional Airport is the little engine that could and growth continues at the airfield and in the region.  Even in the current economic climate companies continue to expand in Londonderry, New Hampshire.  Investigation of lands throughout the community for appropriate commercial and industrial development are occurring at a steady pace.

Why not!  As we all know in Londonderry “Business is good. Life is better!”