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Massport Holds the Line on Boston Logan Rates and Charges

WORCESTER – The Massachusetts Port Authority Board today approved a series of rates and charges for airlines at Boston Logan International Airport which continue to demonstrate fiscal discipline and hold the line on cost increases in some areas for the fourth consecutive year. The rates are in effect from Oct. 1, 2011 to Sept. 30, 2012, but can be adjusted in the middle of the year.

Massport relies on formulas to determine the landing fees, terminal rents and baggage screening fees and they are computed annually to cover the operating and capital costs associates with the operation, maintenance and capital improvements to the airfield, the terminals and the baggage screening system. The rates are not a source of net revenue for Massport and they are established based on service projections provided by the airlines.

“For the fourth year in a row, airlines serving Logan will see savings in airport rates and charges,’’ said David S. Mackey, Interim CEO of Massport. “Because Logan’s passenger and aircraft activity were higher than projections, approximately $5 million of extra collections will be returned to the airlines through credits to their passenger fees, baggage screening fees, and landing fees.’’

The Board approved a package of aeronautical rates and charges for Logan that set landing fees at $4.36 per 1,000 pounds, a 39 cent drop and the lowest they have been since FY 2008. Baggage screening fees – which support the system to screen each checked bag -- will drop a penny to $1.27 per bag.

In total, airline fees will be only 2-3% higher than last year, with the increase coming in terminal rents. The rent increase is necessary because of $66 million in capital improvements throughout Logan’s terminals, such as completion of the expanded Terminal E checkpoint and hold rooms where Southwest Airlines and now AirTran will be operating from; the new centralized checkpoint in Terminal C that links the JetBlue and United concourses; and improvements to restrooms, flooring and lighting in Terminal B.

Mackey told the Board, which was meeting at Worcester Regional Airport, one of three airports owned and operated by Massport, that the new rates have all been reviewed with the airlines and the Boston Airline Committee, which have again expressed their appreciation for Logan’s ability to manage costs well.

Massport receives no state tax funding and is governed by a seven member Board. Six of the members are appointed to staggered seven-year terms by the Governor of Massachusetts, and the Secretary of Transportation serves as an ex officio member.

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 32 international destinations and in 2010 handled 27.4 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. You can find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bostonlogan or www.facebook.com/cruiseportboston and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bostonlogan or www.twitter.com/cruiseboston.

The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) owns and operates Boston Logan International Airport, public terminals in 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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