Jet fuel | Paul Bradbury takes over the bustling Portland International Jetport
Photo/David A. Rodgers
Paul Bradbury, director of the Portland International Jetport
Airlines around the country are struggling to salvage the bottom line amid increasing gas prices, and industry analysts warn regional airports may suffer as a consequence, but the new director of the Portland International Jetport says all’s clear for takeoff in southern Maine. The jetport is entering what will likely be its second year of record-high passenger numbers and is serving enough people currently to warrant a $60 million terminal expansion.
Paul Bradbury, who in May replaced former jetport director Jeff Shultes, will lead the planned expansion. A facilities manager and assistant director under Shultes for 16 years, Bradbury, 38, says he’s seen ups and downs in air travel that have hampered the jetport — like, for example, the downturn following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But the biggest problem he sees now is not too few passengers, but too many. With a record 1.6 million passengers served last year and 1.8 million expected in 2008 — a bump he credits largely to the recent addition of two low-cost carriers — Bradbury says the terminal and the tarmac have become congested. The line for security can clog much of the second floor during peak hours, recently prompting the jetport to relocate the restaurant caught in the crowd downstairs. Arriving and departing airplanes must maneuver around each other for access to the terminal, and the jetport has had to board some planes from the tarmac to move flights through. Every morning, Bradbury says, each of the jetport’s six gates are “double stacked” with planes lining up access the terminal. “People want to come here and they want to leave here,” he says. “It’s a vibrant market. Right now, the terminal, it’s over capacity. We don’t have room for another airline.”
The jetport’s success is unrivaled in New England — airports in Burlington, Vt., and Boston logged 2.9% and 1.4% increases last year, respectively, while passenger rates fell between 0.1% and 5.6% at airports in Bangor, Manchester, N.H., Providence, R.I., and Windsor Locks, Conn., according to The Union Leader newspaper in Manchester, N.H.
The jetport currently serves seven airlines — U.S. Airways, United, Delta, Continental, Northwest and low-cost carriers JetBlue and AirTran. Since its last major expansion in 1995, the jetport has increased its passenger numbers by 56% — from 1.2 million passengers to the projected 1.8 million this year. The jetport is currently expanding its parking capacity, and the design phase of the terminal expansion is expected to be complete by next March. Bradbury says he’s examining the air travel market in the meantime to decide whether to pursue the expansion now or shelve it until a better time. If one or more of the jetport airlines folds or is merged with another airline, for example, the jetport may lose passengers and not be able to justify the expansion. But if the congestion remains acute, as Bradbury expects, construction could begin as early as next summer.
Bradbury stresses that municipal tax dollars won’t be used for the expansion, which will instead be funded through a mixture of municipal bonds. The jetport reports to the city of Portland, but fuels its operating budget — just under $15 million this year — strictly with jetport revenue from sources like airline terminal fees, ticket surcharges, parking, and food and beverage services. Conversely, the city is barred by federal law from using jetport profits for unrelated city expenses.
Ironically, Bradbury says fuel prices are helping the jetport. Travelers who may have once driven to the Manchester, N.H., airport for cheaper flights are now even more likely to save on gas and fly out of Portland. “The reality is that there’s a certain number of people coming into and leaving Maine, and this is the gateway,” Bradbury says.
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