T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program - FEIS Chapters - PVD

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) EvaluationSeattleThe O&D passenger traffic between T.F. Green Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), and thedirect passenger traffic between Logan Airport and the same market for calendar years 1993 through 2010 is shownin Chart 2-3. Air passengers travel between T.F. Green Airport and SEA by connecting through legacy carrier hubairports or with connecting service on Southwest Airlines.From 1997 through 2005, an average of 66,652 annual O&D passengers traveled between T.F. Green Airport andSEA. New non-stop LCC service is noted in Chart 2-3 and indicated by the dashed line. In November 2005, nonstopLCC service between Logan Airport and SEA was initiated by JetBlue Airways.Chart 2-3 shows a decline beginning in 2006 in passengers traveling between T.F. Green Airport and SEA. From2005 to 2006, O&D passenger traffic between the two airports decreased by 22 percent. From 2006 through 2010,the number of average annual O&D passengers between T.F. Green Airport and SEA dropped to 46,172, which is a31 percent decrease from the nine-year average of 66,652 O&D passengers between 1997 and 2005. The chart alsoshows an increase in the average annual number of direct passengers between Logan Airport and SEA between theperiods of 1997-2005 and 2006-2010 by approximately 79 percent, after new non-stop LCC service was initiated.Las VegasThe longest distance non-stop market currently served from T.F. Green Airport is Las Vegas (via SouthwestAirlines). Air passengers traveled between Las Vegas (LAS) and T.F. Green Airport with connecting flight serviceuntil November 2005, when Southwest Airlines introduced non-stop service. JetBlue Airways also introducednon-stop service between Las Vegas and Logan Airport in 2005. In 2003, Southwest Airlines introduced non-stopservice between Las Vegas and Manchester Airport (MHT).The historical O&D passenger data between Las Vegas and T.F. Green Airport, and the direct passenger trafficbetween Logan Airport and the same market is shown in Chart 2-4. New non-stop LCC service is noted in Chart 2­4 and indicated by the dashed lines. The chart shows that with non-stop LCC service from each of the three easternNew England region airports to the same western U.S. destination, the T.F. Green Airport O&D passengersremained relatively constant while minimizing leakage to Logan Airport.The average annual number of direct passengers between T.F. Green Airport and Las Vegas between the periods of1997-2004 and 2005-2010 increased by approximately 20 percent, while the average annual number of directpassengers between Logan Airport and Las Vegas between the same periods increased by approximately22 percent. These increases demonstrate that if both T.F. Green and Logan Airports (and even Manchester Airport)each offer non-stop service to the same market, leakage can be contained and growth in passenger demand can berealized at both airports.Chapter 2 – Purpose and Need 2-16 July 2011\\mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH02_P&N_JUL_2011.doc