Portland International Jetport

Infobox Airport
name = Portland International Jetport

---

IATA = PWM
ICAO = KPWM
FAA = PWM
type = Public
owner = City of Portland
operator =
city-served = Portland, Maine
location =
elevation-f = 76
elevation-m = 23
coordinates = coord|43|38|46|N|070|18|33|W|region:US_type:airport
website = [http://www.portlandjetport.org/ www.portlandjetport.org]
r1-number = 11/29
r1-length-f = 7,200
r1-length-m = 2,195
r1-surface = Asphalt
r2-number = 18/36
r2-length-f = 5,001
r2-length-m = 1,524
r2-surface = Asphalt
stat-year = 2006
stat1-header = Aircraft operations
stat1-data = 100,953
stat2-header = Based aircraft
stat2-data = 43
footnotes = Source: Federal Aviation AdministrationFAA-airport|ID=PWM|use=PU|own=PU|site=08215.*A, effective 2007-12-20]

Portland International Jetport airport codes|PWM|KPWM|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.

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. [ [http://www.portlandjetport.org/stats.asp Portland Jetport Statistics] ] 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.

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 convert|6800|ft|m|0 in 1966. The current terminal was opened in 1968, when jet service began. [ [http://www.portlandjetport.org/history.asp History of the Portland Jetport] ]

In 2004, the City of Portland again lengthened the runway, to convert|7200|ft|m|0, 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. [cite press release |title=Executive Summary Report |publisher=The Coffman Associates |year=2007 |url=http://www.coffmanassociates.com/media/Portland/ExSumRpt.pdf |accessdate=2007-06-11|format=PDF]

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. [ [http://www1.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/1715638/?searchid=1715638&s=American+Eagle+PWM#ID1715638 Airliners.net Civil Aviation Forums: American Eagle To End Portland, Maine] ] 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 1 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 airreg|N|740PA.

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. [cite web|title=Airport Statistics |publisher=City of Portland |url=http://www.portlandjetport.org/stats.asp |accessdate=2007-06-11] 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. [http://www1.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/2622480/6/ Discussion of this topic on Airliners.net] ]

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. [cite press release |title=AirTran Extends its stay in Portland, Maine |publisher=AirTran Airways |date=2007-07-02 |url =http://pressroom.airtran.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=201565&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1021982&highlight= |accessdate=2007-06-11] On September 26, 2007 JetBlue also announced a daily direct flight to Orlando, using its Embraer 190 equipment, beginning on January 10, 2008.

Airlines and destinations

* AirTran Airways (Baltimore/Washington, Orlando)
* Continental Airlines
** Continental Connection operated by Colgan Air (Newark)
** Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Cleveland)
* Delta Air Lines (Atlanta)
** 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)
* New England Air Transport (Augusta, Frenchville, Presque Isle)
* Northwest Airlines
** Northwest Airlink operated by Mesaba Aviation (Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul)
* United Airlines
** United Express operated by GoJet Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Washington-Dulles)
** United Express operated by Mesa Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, 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)

Historical service

*1931-1941: Boston-Maine Airways
*1941-1972: Northeast Airlines (Boston-Maine Airways rebranded as Northeast Airlines) [http://airchive.com/SITE%20PAGES/TIMETABLES-DELTA.html Delta and Northeast Airlines Routemaps and Timetables] ]
*1962: Atlantic Airways
*1970: Aroostook Airways [ [http://airtimes.com/cgat/usa/aroostook.htm Aroostook Airways Routemaps and Timetables] ]
*1970-1981: Air New England [ [http://airtimes.com/cgat/usa/airnewengland.htm Air New England Routemaps and Timetables] ]
*1972-1990: Bar Harbor Airlines (Part of Eastern Express) [ [http://airtimes.com/cgat/usa/barharbor.htm Bar Harbor Airlines/Eastern Express Routemaps and Timetables] ]
*1972-today: Delta Air Lines (Northeast Airlines Merged with Delta Air Lines)
*1974-1995: Northeast Express Regional Airlines (Northeast Express Regional Airlines was bought by Northwest Airlines)
*1982-1985: Air Vermont [ [http://airtimes.com/cgat/usa/airvermont.htm Air Vermont Routemaps and Timetables] ]
*1983-1987: People Express (Bought by Continental Airlines) [ [http://airchive.com/SITE%20PAGES/TIMETABLES-PEOPLE.html People Express Routemaps] ]
*1984-unknown: Ransome Airlines [ [http://www.departedflights.com/RZ060185.html Ransome Airlines Route Map Circa June 1, 1985] ] (Operated by Delta Connection [http://www.departedflights.com/PWM85intro.html PWM85intro ] ] [ [http://www.departedflights.com/RZ110184.html RZ110184 ] ]
*1984-today: United Airlines
*1985-unknown: Bangor International Airlines
*1986: Presidential Airways
*1986-today: US Airways (Originally as USAir) [ [http://www.departedflights.com/US070186.html US070186 ] ] [ [http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/3130102/?searchid=3130102&s=PWM#ID3130102 Airliners.net discussion regarding the longest B-1900 flights.] ]
*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) [ [http://airtimes.com/cgat/usa/businessexpress.htm Business Express/Atlantic Air Routemaps and Timetables] ]
*1989-1993: Trans World Express (Operated by Metro Airlines Northeast) [ [http://www.departedflights.com/PWM89intro.html PWM89intro ] ]
*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
*2007-today: AirTran Airways [cite news |url=http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/local/070227airtran.html |title=AirTran to Offer Service At Jetport |publisher="Portland Press Herald" |author=Murphy, Edward D. |date=2007-02-27]
*2008-today: New England Air Transport [ [cite news |url=http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=93343&catid=2 |title=New Air Service Connects Aroostook County And Southern Maine |publisher="WCSH" |author=Matuszewski, Kara |date=2008-09-25]

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)")

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. Currently one of the parking garages is under construction, but there is additional parking available away from the jetport with a free shuttle service for the time being. 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.

References

External links

* [http://www.portlandjetport.org/ Portland International Jetport] , official site
* [http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?nr_of_rows=20&sort_order=aircraft&first_this_page=0&page_limit=15&thumbnails=&&countrysearch=USA%20-%20Maine&placesearch=Portland%20-%20International%20Jetport%20%28PWM%20%2F%20KPWM%29 Aircraft Pictures from the Portland International Jetport on Airliners.net]
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kpwm/ Discussion of the Portland International Jetport at Yahoo!]
*FAA-diagram|00329
*FAA-procedures|PWM
*US-airport|PWM