Worcester Business Journal

Passenger count peaks at 333,614. United ends four- times-a-day flights to Washington Dulles International Airport after only three months of service, and Bar Harbor Airlines ends three-times-a-day service to LaGuardia International Airport. Northwest Airlines ends its three-times-a-day service to Detroit in favor of a Boston-to-Philadelphia route. New $16-million terminal opens. US Airways ends service to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Continental Airlines drops its service, leaving only USAir Express. United Express restarts flying four times a day to Dulles. Massport begins managing the airport, including offsetting its annual deficit. Four new flights begin: American Eagle to JFK, Delta Air Lines to Atlanta, Pan American to Orlando Sanford International Airport, and US Airways to Philadelphia. American Eagle, Delta and Pan American end Worcester flights. Last of commercial service ends when USAir stops flying to Philadelphia. Allegiant Air begins service in December to Orlando Sanford. It lasts less than a year. Massport buys the airport from the city for more than $14 million in cash, plus the transfer of the airport land. Direct Air, which flew to West Palm Beach, Myrtle Beach, S.C., Orlando Sanford, and Fort Myers, Fla., abruptly ends service. Rectrix Aviation takes over base operations, including park- ing, fueling and maintenance for aircraft. JetBlue starts service to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. Rectrix moves its maintenance division from Hanscom Field in Bedford to Worcester, where it built a 27,000-square-foot hangar for aircraft maintenance and storage, and says it intends to add flights to Baltimore Washington International Airport. Rectrix begins seasonal flights to Hyannis. Source: News reports Worcester Regional Airport, the last 30 years Worcester airport commercial flights The number of commercial flights out of Worcester Regional Airport has been uneven over the years as airlines have repeatedly tried flights but often found a shortage of demand. 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '11 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17* Number of commercial flights '09 National downward trend Throughout the country, the number of departures and total seats among major carriers has fallen in the past decade. 2007 2016 Change Departures 9,817,743 8,293,268 -15.5% Seats 1,011,396,484 989,572,734 -2.2% Source: Boyd Group International *Through May Source: Federal Aviation Administration 1989: 1990: 1993: 1997: 1998: 2000: 2002: 2003: 2005: 2010: 2012: 2013: 2016: 2017: service from Worcester, it spelled the city's name wrong – as Worchester – on schedules. In 1995, an inaugural US Airways flight from Philadelphia – the airport's first commercial flight in six months – was due to land to a waiting group of dignitaries but was rerouted to Providence because of fog. In 2005, a Federal Aviation Administration study of 11 New England airports didn't even include Worcester because the airport had no commercial service at the time, spur- ring discussion of a name change, such as Worcester-Boston Regional Airport. The airport considered roadway chang- es to make access from I-290 easier after a study said it would increase rid- ership by more than one-thrid. When airliners left Worcester – sometimes after only a few months – they've cited a lack of enough demand to turn a profit. Worcester once had six commercial carriers, but on three sepa- rate occasions, the city has been left without a single commercial flight. Fewer flights, fewer passengers Massachusetts Institute of Technology's International Center for Air Transportation reported in 2013 smaller U.S. airports saw a 19-percent drop in departures from 2007 to 2012, doubling the rate of the largest airports. At Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire and T.F. Green Airport outside Providence, flights fell by more than one-third, while ticket prices at each rose by more than 13 percent, MIT said. Bradley International Airport outside Hartford had flights fall by 24 percent and prices rise by 8 percent. "Smaller airports are, for the most part, barely holding on, or losing ser- vice," said Robert Mann, the president of airline industry analyst R.W. Mann & Co. "Airlines would like you to drive right by Worcester to Bradley or Logan, where they have more service." Worcester's improvements might not be enough to overcome accessibility and other issues, said airline industry ana- lyst Mike Boyd, president and CEO of Boyd Group International. JetBlue's presence in Worcester means the airliner is committed to being a major player in the state, Boyd said, but others aren't as likely to join. "There are only three major network carriers that would have potential for connective flights to ORH: American, Delta and United," Boyd said, using Worcester's official code name. "Two of these have come and gone, and even with a CAT III, it is not likely they're coming back." Small airport advantages Establishing new routes can cost up to $80 million, so airports serving larg- er communities have an advantage, said Harteveldt, the travel industry analyst. Yet, as larger airports become congested, more airlines consider serv- ing smaller regional airports. Carriers may target smaller airports if they find their customers live in that area, or because the convenience of the nearer location allows it to charge more than it does at a larger airport. Worcester Regional Airport estimates 80 percent of its passengers come from Worcester or its bordering towns. Weather was never expected to be much of an obstacle for the airport, which opened in the 1940s on a former National Guard drill field. Consultants predicted within a decade, flying would be available all weather, with visibility having little impact on flights. Davis, the Worcester airport director, said the CAT III system will help with Worcester's historical challenge of hold- ing onto airlines. The Boston Globe reported in 2013 that 15 percent of flights were canceled or diverted over safe landing concerns in JetBlue's first month of Worcester service. Worcester offered financial incentives to JetBlue when the airliner began flying to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale in 2013. City, state and federal funds totaled more than $1 million but have expired for those routes, Davis said. New incentives will apply to JetBlue's new JFK route. A extended lighting system includes a denser concentration of lights at the end of the airport's main runway. wbjournal.com | August 7, 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 11 W

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