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Boston Logan Holds the Line on Airport Rates and Charges for Third Year
Nearly $10 million Returned to Airlines as Credit for FY 10

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Port Authority Board today approved rates and charges for Oct. 1, 2010 to Sept. 30, 2011 which hold the line on landing fees, baggage screening fees and terminal rents at Boston Logan International Airport. As a result, about $9.8 million will be returned to airlines for fees collected in the previous year and the rates for the next year are approximately $5 million below last year’s rates.

“These rates and charges are the result of a disciplined fiscal austerity program and careful planning by Massport that included freezing vacant positions, modifying employee health insurance benefits, reducing spending on consultant contracts, travel, corporate dues and lowering operational contracts where it was appropriate to reduce service levels, as well as $5 million in savings because of historically low natural gas prices,’’ said Thomas J. Kinton Jr., CEO & Executive Director of Massport.

The Massport Board approved Logan landing fee at $4.75 per 1,000 pounds, which is .07 cents below the $4.82 landing fee approved last year. Baggage fees declined .21 cents from last year’s approved $1.49 per bag rate to $1.28 per bag. The Board approved terminal building rates that for the most part will be lower in Terminal A and Terminal C, while rates in Terminal B and Terminal E increased slightly to reflect the capital improvements in those facilities.

The terminal rates, landing fees and baggage screening fees are formula-driven and computed annually to cover the capital and operating costs associated with the operation and maintenance of the airfield and the baggage screening system. The rates do not represent a source of net revenue for Massport and are established based on service projections provided by the airlines.

“Massport’s hard work to contain costs in the airport environment is greatly appreciated by every member of the Boston Airline Committee,’’ said Hank Moody, general manager – Corporate Real Estate for Delta Air Lines, and chairman of the group representing all signatory tenant airlines at Boston Logan International Airport. “To maintain a flat cost structure for three years in a row is a significant achievement.’’

No state tax dollars are used to fund operations or capital improvements at Massport facilities and a recent successful bond refunding help reduce the capital costs of the Authority, which also is reflected in the rates and charges.

Boston Logan, 15 minutes from the intersection of Route 128 and I-90 and five minutes from downtown Boston, serves as the gateway to the New England region and offers nonstop service to 70 domestic and 31 international destinations and in 2009 handled 25.5 million passengers. Boston Logan is the Air Line Pilot Association’s Airport of the Year for 2008 because of its commitment to safety. Over the past decade, the airport spent $4.5 billion on a modernization program that includes new terminals, parking facilities, roadways and airport concessions, and has been transformed into a world-class 21st Century facility. The airport generates $7 billion in total economic impact each year.

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The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) operates Boston Logan International Airport, the Port of Boston, Hanscom Field and Worcester Regional Airport. Massport is a financially self-sustaining public authority whose premier transportation facilities generate more than $8 billion annually, and enhance and enable economic growth and vitality in New England. No state tax dollars are used to fund operations or capital improvements at Massport facilities.

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