Continental Moving to Logan Terminal A
Peter J. Howe, Boston Globe, 5/18/2007
Continental Airlines Inc. is taking off at Logan International Airport -- to the half-empty Terminal A.
Continental, which now uses five gates in Terminal C, has agreed to move by Nov. 1 to six gates in the $500 million Delta Air Lines Inc. terminal, which opened in March 2005. Directors of the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan, approved the move yesterday.
The move will bring an infusion of 1 million more passengers a year to the gleaming but badly underused terminal, which was designed and put into construction before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath sharply depressed travel.
It also frees space in Terminal C for Logan's two fastest-growing airlines, discounters AirTran Airways and JetBlue Airways Corp. JetBlue already has committed to rent two or three of the gates Continental is vacating, and on the other side of that terminal, AirTran wants to expand also, but no definite plans are set.
Continental spokesman Dave Messing said, "We think our customers will enjoy the more modern facilities offered in Terminal A, plus it has the advantage of being closest to the airport entrance." Continental is a partner with Delta in SkyTeam, an affiliation of airlines that share frequent-flyer miles, airport lounges, and ticket reservation systems.
Massport executive director Thomas J. Kinton Jr. said he doubts any other airlines will be moving into A soon. "The terminal is going to be pretty well, not maxed out, but close," Kinton said. Massport will have only one more big-jet gate in A it can sublease to another airline, under terms of a deal worked out during Delta's recent bankruptcy proceedings . The carrier gave Massport control of six of the 18 big-jet gates at the terminal, and three of the seven tarmac positions for regional jets, in exchange for Delta writing off much of its financial obligation for the terminal.
Speculation has bubbled that Northwest Airlines -- also a SkyTeam partner -- might move to Terminal A as well, but Kinton said there isn't enough space.
All of Continental's operations will be in the main terminal closest to check-in, with Delta using only the so-called remote terminal at A. From Boston, Continental flies near-shuttle-frequency flights to Newark Liberty International Airport, to its hubs in Cleveland and Houston, and small-plane service to Burlington and Rutland, Vt., and Plattsburgh, Saranac Lake, and White Plains, N.Y. It's the eighth-largest carrier at Logan by passenger volume, according to the most recent available Massport statistics, carrying about 4.4 percent of the airport's 27 million annual passengers.
Massport is paying Continental up to $1.8 million to offset relocation expenses. Under terms of a five-year contract, Continental will pay terminal bondholders $1.4 million annually and pay Massport $4.2 million in rent, Massport spokesman Matthew D. Brelis said.
Also at Logan yesterday, Massport directors approved a planned June 1 increase in parking fees that will raise the cost of daily parking in the central garage to $24 from $22. Economy-lot parking will climb to $108 from $96, and fees for riding the Logan Express shuttle buses from Braintree, Framingham, Peabody and Woburn to the airport -- but not parking at those lots -- will rise $1 each way.