When flying, all's fare; Bangor airport struggles to compete in regional ticket-pricing game

The key element that BIA is missing is a low-cost carrier that flies large aircraft to multiple destinations, which would drive down fares in the Bangor market, said Cindy Hardy, owner of Bangor Travel Services. She applauded BIA for attracting Allegiant Air, a low-cost carrier that will fly twice a week to Orlando starting in November, but said the service is not the same as JetBlue and AirTran Airways in Portland, or Southwest Airlines in Manchester.

"Portland has become a very aggressive low-cost carrier airport with the addition of JetBlue and AirTran," Hardy said. "The two low-cost carriers are heavily competing against one another, making our major carriers compete."

JetBlue began operating out of Portland in May 2006, and AirTran started in June 2007. Portland's negotiations with JetBlue took more than six years because the airline wanted to ensure adequate market demand to justify low-cost service, Hughes said.

Southwest moved into Manchester in the summer of 1998, after what O'Neill described as "many years" of discussions. Southwest was the second step to the airport's transformation in the late '90s, he said.

In 1997, the airport negotiated common rated airfares with US Airways, meaning the airline would give travelers from Manchester the same price Boston Logan International Airport passengers received when flying to the same destination.

"Previous to those two events, we were the convenient airport that had high airfares," O'Neill said. "As soon as we eliminated the airfare discrepancy, we became the convenient little airport with competitive rates."

Many discount carriers have population guidelines for cities they move into, and it historically has kept Bangor out of the low-cost market, Hupp said.

"Certainly what the community is looking for is low cost and connectivity, and the best fit for that would probably be JetBlue," said Hupp. "I'll be candid. We had a discussion [with JetBlue] in June and they are interested in Bangor, but they are very concerned about the population base."

JetBlue's presence in Portland serves as a double-edged sword to Bangor, Hupp said. If the service is not successful in Portland, then the airline would never consider moving into a place like Bangor, she said. While Bangor needs Portland to prosper, BIA has to prove it is a viable airport as Bangor-area passengers use southern airports in search of lower fares.

Bangor did attract low-cost Allegiant, but "I don't think that Allegiant will have the same impact on fares overall that a low-cost carrier that has connections to more points would have," Hupp said.

Educated consumers

The key to finding lower prices at BIA is being an educated consumer who calculates all the costs of a trip, plans ahead and has a flexible travel schedule, said Hupp.

"I think we recognize that fares and pricing from Bangor is a challenge, and unfortunately the airport does not set the prices," said Hupp.

Airport fees account for approximately 10 percent of an airline's operating cost industrywide, Hupp said. She said Bangor's fees are equivalent to airports of similar size, and those fees are "relatively minor and don't significantly impact the fares that are charged."

Hardy, owner of Bangor Travel Services, said she and her consultants work very hard to get travelers from this area to use the Bangor airport, but recently it has been a struggle.

In the past, about 85 percent of Bangor Travel clients chose convenience and flew out of Bangor. When reflecting on the major winter vacation packages she has booked recently, Hardy said almost all have used Portland. Out of the 25 most recent packages the agency handled, only one large group and a local businessman booked tickets from Bangor.

"We will fight [airline costs] to get people to fly out of Bangor," Hardy said. "It is very important to me to keep this airport vital; I have a business here and my husband has a business; we need an airport to help us grow.

"The reality of the situation is the person's pocketbook is going to tell them where to go [fly from], and we can never compete with that."

There are low fares available in the Bangor market, but "the best rates are always with proper planning," Hardy said.

Amy Faircloth, 47, of Bangor said she flies out of Bangor nearly every time she travels, and she already has priced tickets for the family's April vacation. While in hope that prices will drop, she will continue to use her hometown airport, Faircloth said.