Portland International Jetport

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For the airport of Portland, Oregon, see Portland International Airport.

Portland International Jetport
IATA: PWM – ICAO: KPWM – FAA: PWM
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		City of Portland
Serves		Portland, Maine
Elevation AMSL		76 ft / 23 m
Coordinates		43°38′46″N 070°18′33″W / 43.64611, -70.30917
Website		www.portlandjetport.org
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
11/29	7,200	2,195	Asphalt
18/36	5,001	1,524	Asphalt
Statistics (2006)
Aircraft operations			100,953
Based aircraft			43
Source: Federal Aviation Administration^[1]

Portland International Jetport (IATA: PWM, ICAO: KPWM, FAA LID: PWM) is a public airport located two miles (3 km) west of the central business district of Portland, in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. It is owned by the City of Portland.^[1]

This regional airport serves much of Maine and is the busiest airport in the state. In 2007, the airport handled a record 1,648,568 passengers, up 17.0% from the previous year.^[2] Recently, the Jetport has benefited from service by low-cost carriers such as JetBlue, and AirTran Airways. PWM is now in the process of expanding and updating its terminal to allow more airline service.

1 History
2 Airlines and destinations
- 2.1 Historical service
3 Air cargo operators and destinations
4 Ground transportation
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The airfield was founded in the late 1920s by Dr. Clifford “Kip” Strange, who needed space for his JN-4 "Jenny" Biplane. Known as Stroudwater Field, the airport received its first commercial service on December 17, 1934. Two years later, the city of Portland bought the airfield and changed its name to Portland-Westbrook-Municipal. "Westbrook" referred to the location of the last directional light before the airport in the nearby town of Westbrook.

The current airport started to take shape in the 1950s to 60s. Runway 11/29 was built in 1957 and lengthened to 6,800 feet (2,073 m) in 1966. The current terminal was opened in 1968, when jet service began.^[3]

In 2004, the City of Portland again lengthened the runway, to 7,200 feet (2,195 m), to accommodate larger aircraft.

The terminal has been expanded at least twice, and there are plans for a further expansion of the concourse in 2009.^[4]

Other changes include improvements to the terminal and baggage claim, reconfiguration of the airport access road and terminal roads, and rehabilitation and expansion of the parking garage. The City of Portland is also planning to expand the general aviation ramp, enlarge the cargo ramp and facilities, reconfigure the alignment of taxiways, and eventually reconfigure runway 18/36.

The airport was the starting point of Mohammed Atta and Abdulaziz al-Omari's travels on September 11, 2001. The pair flew to Boston, where they boarded American Airlines Flight 11 and later hijacked it and crashed it into One World Trade Center. Their rental car was later taken from the Jetport.

In the wake of 9/11, many U.S. airlines began offering fewer flights. This furthered the airlines' shift from mainline jet aircraft to smaller regional jets or turboprops at PWM. In late 2002, American Eagle stopped flying to the Jetport.^[5] On September 1, 2005, Delta Air Lines ended mainline service to PWM. Despite the airline's strong history at Portland, serving the Jetport in the past with aircraft as large as the Boeing 757, Boeing 727, and the McDonnell Douglas MD-88, all flights were set to be operated by Delta Connection on Canadair Regional Jets.

Some service began to return as the airline industry returned to health in 2005 and 2006. The first step up came with the introduction of the low cost carrier Independence Air in 2005. On May 1st of 2005, Independence added a daily flight to Washington Dulles on an Airbus A319, making them the first carrier to fly an Airbus out of Portland. Portland was one of few markets that Independence Air consistently served with its larger A319 jets, and at the time of their bankruptcy Portland was rumored to be one of their few profitable destinations. Federal Express also began using an Airbus A310 widebody jet on its cargo flights to Memphis later that year. On July 1, 2005, Portland received its first transatlantic arrival. The flight was Primaris Airlines flight 3 from Shannon, Ireland. The flight was on a Boeing 757-200 with the registration N740PA.

After Independence Air went bankrupt, Portland was left without a low-cost carrier, causing fares to go up, and passenger numbers to once again decline.^[6] Capitalizing on the under served market, JetBlue Airways began service to Portland on May 23, 2006, with four daily flights to New York/JFK aboard Airbus A320 jets. This made them the second largest air carrier at the Jetport (in terms of available seats) nearly overnight. This addition of service has inspired what is known as the Southwest Effect, where the addition of a large number of low cost seats in a market forces down the price of competing tickets.^[7]

On June 7, 2007, AirTran Airways began seasonal service to Baltimore/Washington Airport, as well as to Orlando, Florida. This established AirTran as the second low cost carrier in Portland, competing with JetBlue. This is the first time that Portland has received direct service to a Florida destination, a market that has been the focus of much speculation in past years. Flights are to be operated on Boeing 717 jets, some of the largest aircraft scheduled to the Jetport currently. At much the same time, JetBlue announced that it would be adding a fifth flight of their own to New York, further increasing the number of available low cost seats. On July 2, 2007, AirTran revealed that its previously announced seasonal service to Portland would become year-round. The airline then extended its seasonal service, to include daily, year round service to Orlando, as well as extended (albeit reduced) service to Baltimore.^[8] On September 26, 2007 JetBlue also announced a daily direct flight to Orlando, using its Embraer 190 equipment, beginning on January 10, 2008.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

A US Airways Express Embraer 170 taxis to Runway 29, passing the tail of an AirTran Airways Boeing 717

AirTran Airways (Baltimore/Washington, Orlando)
Continental Airlines
- Continental Connection operated by Colgan Air (Newark [begins June 12])
- Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Cleveland [seasonal], Newark [ends July 1])
Delta Air Lines
- Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (Atlanta)
- Delta Connection operated by Comair (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, New York-JFK)
- Delta Connection operated by Freedom Airlines (New York-JFK)
JetBlue Airways (New York-JFK, Orlando)
Northwest Airlines
- Northwest Airlink operated by Mesaba Airlines (Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul [seasonal])
United Airlines
- United Express operated by GoJet Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Washington-Dulles)
- United Express operated by Mesa Airlines (Washington-Dulles)
- United Express operated by Trans States Airlines (Washington-Dulles)
US Airways
- US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin (New York-LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Washington-Reagan)
- US Airways Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines (New York-LaGuardia)
- US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines (Charlotte)
- US Airways Express operated by Piedmont Airlines (New York-LaGuardia, Philadelphia)
- US Airways Express operated by Republic Airlines (Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington-Reagan)

[edit] Historical service

1931-1941: Boston-Maine Airways
1941-1972: Northeast Airlines (Boston-Maine Airways rebranded as Northeast Airlines)^[9]
1962: Atlantic Airways
1970: Aroostook Airways^[10]
1970-1981: Air New England^[11]
1972-1990: Bar Harbor Airlines (Part of Eastern Express)^[12]
1972-today: Delta Air Lines (Northeast Airlines Merged with Delta Air Lines)^[13]
1974-1995: Northeast Express Regional Airlines (Northeast Express Regional Airlines was bought by Northwest Airlines)
1982-1985: Air Vermont^[14]
1983-1987: People Express (Bought by Continental Airlines)^[15]
1984-unknown: Ransome Airlines^[16] (Operated by Delta Connection^[17] ^[18]
1984-today: United Airlines
1985-unknown: Bangor International Airlines ^[19]
1986: Presidential Airways
1986-today: US Airways (Originally as USAir)^[20] ^[21]
1987-today: Continental Airlines (People Express was bought by Continental Airlines)
1987-2000: Business Express (Originally its own company, then it became part of Delta Connection who sold it to American Eagle)^[22]
1989-1993: Trans World Express (Operated by Metro Airlines Northeast) ^[23]
1999-today: Northwest Airlines
1999-2002: American Airlines
1999-2001: TWA (TWA was bought by American Airlines)
1999-2001: Air Nova (Became Air Canada Jazz)
2004-2006: Independence Air (ceased operations)
2006-today: JetBlue Airways^[24]
2007-today: AirTran Airways^[25]

[edit] Air cargo operators and destinations

DHL
- DHL operated by ABX Air (Allentown, Rochester (NY))
FedEx Express (Boston, Memphis, Burlington (VT), Newark, Columbus (OH))
- FedEx Feeder operated by Wiggins Airways (Bangor, Manchester (NH), Presque Isle)
Business Airfreight
- Business Airfreight operated by Air Now (Bangor, Manchester (NH))

[edit] Ground transportation

The airport is accessible from I-95 (the Maine Turnpike) and I-295. The jetport currently provides ample parking space in multiple ground lots as well as two parking garages, with rates ranging from $8-$10 per day. A complimentary cell phone lot is available just outside the baggage claim area. METRO Bus and taxi service can be accessed from the ground transportation booth outside the baggage claim. A recently founded shuttle bus service called The Portland Explorer provides access to area hotels, and to other local transportation, such as the Amtrak Downeaster train service, and The CAT high speed ferry.