MassPort plans $17 million cut

The Massachusetts Port Authority plans to cut $17 million - or 4.5 percent - from its budget because it projects monthly passenger traffic at Logan International Airport will continue tumbling through at least the first half of the year as business travelers and vacationers book fewer flights.

"Our best guess - based on scheduled operations, seat availability, and projections from snapshots of activity at airports across the country - is that we may see month-over-month declines in the 5 to 6 percent range for much of the year, with traffic perhaps staging a comeback in the second half of 2009, depending on the economy," Massport chief executive Thomas J. Kinton Jr. told board members during today's monthly meeting. "It's below where we'd like it to be, but it's better than where we were just this fall."

Last November, Logan's passenger volume fell a steep 16 percent compared with November 2007, partially because the late Thanksgiving and deteriorating economy dissuaded students and other budget-minded people from flying home for the holidays twice within a few weeks. Passenger traffic fell only 4.9 percent in December when compared to December 2007.

The airport served over 26.1 million passengers in 2008, down 7.1 percent from its record high of 28.1 million passengers in 2007.

With the forecast that fewer footsteps will be heard in Logan's terminals this year, Massport is looking across the board for ways to offset a resulting drop in food, retail, and parking revenue.

The authority already pared back its $377.7 million spending plan for fiscal 2009 by 3.4 percent, or $13 million, in September by leaving about 35 vacant positions unfilled, reducing the hours of some offices and services, cutting back on discretionary spending, and other measures. It also acted on the airlines' suggestion that Massport refinance its costs for building facilities, just as homeowners refinance their mortgages.
(By Nicole C. Wong, Globe staff)