All Things Travel: 6 Month Report Card Gives Massport High Marks
BOSTON (CBS) - For The Massachusetts Port Authority, it has been a good first half of the year at Logan International Airport.
Figures released last week saw the total number of passengers arriving and departing totaled 15,045,648, an increase of 631,632 over the same period last year.
The total increase was 4.4%.
Logan is on its way to another record year and should post results of over 31 million. Last year, the total passed 30 million for the first time.
International passenger traffic increased to almost 140,000 for the same period and was up 6.6%. Logan welcomed the start of flights on Emirates, Turkish Airlines and Hainan Airlines this spring.
JetBlue Airways continues to be the number one domestic airline serving Boston. Its new flights at Massport's controlled Worcester Airport are operating with a load factor of 80%.
A Boston Globe research report last week gave Logan a favorable rating by consumers of about 70% compared to the MBTA at 50%.
The new Back Bay Logan Express is off to a favorable start with MBTA pass holders riding free from Copley Square and the Hynes Convention Center.
The new consolidated rent-a-car facility on the airport is also running smoothly.
The Massport Board of Directors voted $100 million for an expansion of Terminal E that handles international passengers. The new United Airlines Terminal has opened for business.
The airlines have done their part with record profits helped by a number of passenger fees.
If there was one factor to be watched, it is arriving passengers from Europe. 329,325 flew in and out of Boston, which was an increase of 1.8%. The figure was flat for the month of June and the start of the peak travel season.
All Things Travel Reports Can be Heard on WBZ News Radio