One of the many advantages of living in New Hampshire is the accessibility of Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. Would anyone disagree that flying out of Manchester is much more convenient than flying out of Boston? There is no traffic, and the airport is modern, clean and well-maintained, with four major carriers. Then why did the airport experience its 14th straight year of declining passenger levels? In fact, the passenger levels in Manchester have dropped from a peak of 4.3 million passengers in 2005 to 1.7 million passengers in 2019.
If you ask the typical consumer, the quick response is that people choose to fly out of Boston for better flight options and/or a better price. While Boston offers more options, why is there frequently such a cost differential? Aside from Southwest, Manchester offers no other low-cost airlines. Jet Blue, Frontier and Spirit all serve Boston. Allegiant Air flies out of Pease Air Force Base. And, in 2009, Southwest decided to serve Boston as well as Manchester, causing Manchester to lose many of its daily flights. These low-cost carriers have taken a pass on Manchester because data tells them the passenger count is not there, and the Cost Per Enplanement (CPE) fees are high in Manchester.
In 2019, Airport Director Ted Kitchens received city approval to restructure three bond obligations with the intention of attracting more airlines to Manchester. The debt restructure would allow for a reduction in the CPE fees over the next few years. Fast forward to March 2020 when the pandemic started to impact the United States. Mirroring trends nationally, passenger levels were down 95 percent in April and 81 percent in May, year over year. Fortunately, Manchester received $12.1 million in federal funds to ensure the continued operation of the airport during this crisis.
Given the strength of New Hampshire’s economy prior to Covid-19, the continued declining passenger rates are a worrisome trend. While passengers are willing to pay at a certain level for the convenience of flying out of Manchester, there is a point where price trumps convenience. The airport is a critical component of our state’s economic engine. As we begin to ease out of isolation, it’s important for consumers to “Fly Manchester” when possible, and equally important for the airport to make it feasible for them to do so.
