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JetBlue Airways' Presence Likely to Lower Fares in Southern Maine Travel Market

Posted on: Friday, 24 February 2006, 18:00 CST

By Edward D. Murphy, Portland Press Herald, Maine

Feb. 24--As soon as she learned Thursday morning that JetBlue Airways would begin flying from Portland this spring, Denise Meiler started working the phones and sending e-mails.

"We are thrilled and notified a lot of customers this morning," said Meiler, manager of Hurley Travel Experts in Portland. "We're expecting the airfares to drop because of the competition and that's wonderful for consumers."

JetBlue announced that, starting May 23, it will offer four round-trips a day to JFK airport in New York. The discount carrier's low fares and its connections through JFK are expected to significantly alter the travel market in southern Maine.

Other airlines are likely to lower their fares to compete with JetBlue flights that begin at $54 one-way, booked online. Leisure travelers will have a low-cost option to popular destinations like Florida and the West Coast.

Business travelers should save on expenses. International travelers will have more options. And travelers used to going to Manchester, N.H., or Boston for cheap fares will have a Portland alternative.

If that scenario plays out, airport officials say, the new service will help make the case for $70 million in improvements being considered for Portland International Jetport. The service announcement already has given a boost to talks aimed at renewing air service between Portland and Atlantic Canada.

"Obviously, the announcement was very well received by everyone," said Jeff Monroe, the director of Portland's Department of Ports and Transportation, who is in Canada discussing the restoration of air service between the city and Canadian airports, such as Halifax and Yarmouth. "They were really excited when they heard about it."

Meiler said the immediate impact will likely be to ease the impact of fares on vacationers' budgets and help corporate customers hold the line on rising costs for business travel. That remains true, even though JetBlue announced this week that it may raise fares $5 to $10 this year because of higher fuel costs.

Meiler said Portland travelers have been dealing with a national trend of airlines cutting back on both the number of flights they offer and on the size of aircraft they're using. Most airlines in Portland have switched from larger, 130- to 150-seat aircraft to smaller, 50-seat regional jets.

That switch has meant fewer seats for low fares, Meiler said, as well as fewer options for travelers looking to score free or discounted tickets by using frequent-flier miles.

JetBlue, she noted, will be flying 156-seat Airbus A320s to Portland, rather than the smaller 100-seat regional jets that also are part of the discount airline's fleet.

Airport official said JetBlue will boost the number of seats available for flights from Portland by 20 percent. That would give renewed impetus to plans to expand parking space and the terminal at the Jetport, said Jeff Schultes, airport manager.

Schultes said the airport already has architects working on a design for the new garage, which will replace the current structure and double the current 600-car capacity. The garage is strained during heavy travel periods now, including this week's school vacation.

Schultes said airport officials will probably seek approval for the $20 million project -- which will be paid for out of parking revenues -- from the Portland City Council later this spring, with construction likely next year.

He said officials will then start looking at more-ambitious plans to improve the terminal with four more gates, a larger area for people to see off or greet passengers, and more room for security checks. That project would cost an estimated $50 million, to be paid with money from the current $3 per ticket airport fee.

The terminal work would have to be done after the garage is completed, he said, partly because plans include a sky bridge to connect the parking structure with the terminal.

Schultes said he wants to make sure that JetBlue's service takes off and doesn't impact other airlines' schedules before deciding to press ahead with the expansion. But he thinks travelers will embrace JetBlue's low fares and noted that the other airlines should continue to attract passengers for flights to cities that JetBlue has so far ignored, such as Philadelphia, Atlanta and Chicago.

For some passengers, getting an inexpensive flight to JFK will be enough because the airport offers extensive flights to international destinations.

"It gives us a lot more choices," said Perry Newman, president and founder of Atlantica Group, an international business consulting firm.

Newman noted that he goes to Israel two to four times a year on business and currently has to either take a bus or drive to Boston or fly to Newark, N.J., to make an overseas connection.

Using Boston's airport, he noted, involves a two-hour ride, time to get from a satellite parking lot to the terminal and more time to get through security than in Portland.

Newark, he said, isn't served by either El Al or a start-up Israeli airline that offers convenient flights to the Mideast. JFK is.

Perry said he hopes that new connections will allow him to book round-trip flights for $200 to $300 less each time. Also, clients who come in from overseas will be able to fly to the city through JFK, he said, instead of what some do now -- fly to Boston and rent a car and drive to Portland.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Portland Press Herald, Maine

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JBLU,

Source: Portland Press Herald

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