Do you ever fly out of Manchester or Providence airports? (Boston: 2015, living in)

[Champ le monstre du lac]

When I lived on the North Shore I sometimes flew out of MHT, and when I go back to the Cape to visit family in the summer I find PVD via 195 much easier to deal with than Logan, 93, and route 3. MHT titles itself Manchester/Boston regional airport and PVD has commuter rail connections now. These airports offer a nice alternative to Logan.

Lately though I've noticed some routes have been cut back at these two airports, Southwest cancelled PHX and Vegas from PVD and you can't fly further west than Chicago now from these two airports without making a connection. Southwest also use to offer lower fares from these airports that were competitive with Logan. Airfares have really spiked up in the last few years to MHT and PVD that I usually just end up flying into Logan now.

What are your experiences with MHT and PVD?

[Space_League]

Manchester is a nice little airport. Much less stressful than Logan but obviously the flights offered are limited. Never flown PVD

[CaseyB]

I've flown from Providence many times. You're right, there's not as many connections.

[Hollytree]

It doesn't aid the OP in getting to NM but PVD is getting its first direct to Europe flight in 2015.

T.F. Green flights to Frankfurt, Germany, to start in 2015 - Providence Business News

[jayrandom]

Providence used to offer significantly cheaper flights, but it's so much easier for me to get to Logan I don't usually look anymore.

[massnative71]

Useed to fly out of PVD when they were more competetive, now the prices have gotten so much higher than Logan that it's just not worth it.

[johngolf]

When living in the Boston area all 3 were worth checking the prices on if paying for it myself. If on the company dollar then the most convenient for me was the deciding factor and Logan won.

Now that I am in SC and I pay to visit Boston and/or for family to come visit me here, it is more a price issue followed by convenience. Logan still wins.

[brightdoglover]

I prefer Manchester but not if it adds another layover to a trip. I do like the ease and price of parking versus Logan- if go to Logan, I get a car service and it's expensive. Never flew out of Providence.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

I prefer Manchester but not if it adds another layover to a trip. I do like the ease and price of parking versus Logan- if go to Logan, I get a car service and it's expensive. Never flew out of Providence.

Same thing with Providence. Very easy to get there on the highway, easy parking. Very limited flights vs. Logan

[lrfox]

I used to quite a bit more. Two things have happened to make Boston a better option for most people.

PVD and MHT used to be the only Boston area airports with low cost carrier service (specifically Southwest). Boston was dominated by legacy carriers (Delta being the biggest presence at Logan). However, over the past 10 years, low cost carriers (LCCs) have not only moved into Logan (SW was at PVD and MHT long before it was at Logan), they've proliferated to the point where JetBlue is now the largest presence at Logan. Costs are down at Logan and given the frequency of flights and number of destinations, Logan is better for more people. Codeshares and partnerships with major international carriers are also a major part of Logan's growth recently.

The Ted Williams tunnel and public transit improvements (Silverline) have made Logan easier to get to. No longer do you need to drive on surface streets in Downtown Boston to get to the Callahan/Sumner tunnels. It's an easier drive. The Silverline makes airport trips on transit easier too.

The regional airports will see niche growth as Logan approaches critical mass (passenger numbers are up every year), but it'll take a while for them to see the volumes they had before.