Burlington Internation Airport sees strong growth
as JetBlue draws fliers to Burlington.

By Leslie Wright
Free Press Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 29, 2002

SOUTH BURLINGTON -- Burlington International Airport has landed in the No. 2 spot on a list of fastest growing airports in the country.

The ranking comes as the airport prepares for a $24 million expansion.

The list was compiled by The Boyd Group, an aviation consulting firm in Colorado. The consultants predict 25 percent growth in passenger traffic at the airport from 2000 through 2008.

Last year 520,000 passengers boarded flights out of Burlington. By 2008, the consultants predict 583,000 passengers will board flights. The airport at Long Beach, Calif., has the top spot with growth predicted at 66.6 percent.


JetBlue's effect

Burlington has benefited from the arrival of discount airline JetBlue Airways and increased use of 50-passenger regional jets, said Brian Streeval, aviation consultant with The Boyd Group.

"It's really because of JetBlue," Streeval said. "The Northeast for many years was pretty stagnant. Basically with US Airways, the fares were high and you didn't see a whole heck of a lot of market stimulation."

Four of the top five airports on the list have recently added service by JetBlue or Southwest Airlines, another discount airline. The increased use of regional jets also has helped the airport. Regional jets are more popular than turboprops and are able to fly farther, making the airport into a regional hub to connect into the national system, Streeval said.

Paying for expansion

Burlington voters will weigh in on the expansion on the Nov. 5 ballot. The measure would not raise taxes. The bonds would be paid for through a combination of parking garage revenues and a $4.50 fee on airline tickets. The ticket fee is $3. Airports throughout the country charge such fees to raise money for capital expenditures.

Airport Director J.J. Hamilton said he was pleased to see Burlington so high on the list. The ranking reinforces the need for expansion and shows that the airport has not yet taken full advantage of the regional market, he said.


Even so, Burlington airport continues to defy national trends. By the end of the year, traffic at the airport is expected to be up 6 percent. Most airports are down 10 percent, Hamilton told the Burlington Air Service Task Force on Monday.


Changing times

Hamilton and Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle addressed task force members to update them on expansion plans and security at the airport.

The task force is made up of representatives from the local travel industry, government, business and the state. The group last met in 1999 when officials were trying to figure out how to lure travelers to the airport from Manchester, N.H., and Albany, N.Y., where discount airlines were offering cheap fares.

That situation has changed, said task force member Ted Child owner of Child Travel Services in Colchester.

"The idea that people are going to drive to Manchester or Albany, it just doesn't happen anymore," Child said.

The picture changed when discount airline JetBlue arrived in Burlington in September 2000, boosting air travel by 30 percent. A second discount carrier, AirTran Airways, is considering landing in Burlington, Hamilton said.

Expanding the airport makes sense to Child. The airport continues to grow even though business travel is down, he noted. When business travel comes back, the airport could see even more growth, he said.

The airport has forecast growth of 3 percent per year.

Expansion plans call for an addition to the parking garage for 948 cars at a cost of $16 million, and an $8 million expansion of the north concourse of the terminal. The most recent expansion added on to the south concourse four years ago.

Contact Leslie Wright at 660-1841 or lwright@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com