Parking discount returns to Logan

Logan International Airport's Thanksgiving parking discount is coming back for Christmas -- and could become a regular feature during some holiday weeks.

Motorists entering Logan's central garage between noon on Dec. 22, the Friday before Christmas, and noon on Dec. 29, will be charged $16 a day, $6 less than the normal rate. That's the same fee to park in the distant economy lots that require taking a bus shuttle to the terminals.

The same maximum $96 a week charge for the economy lot will also be charged for the central garage during those days.

The Massachusetts Port Authority , which runs Logan, began offering the discount for the first time this past Thanksgiving.

Massport chief financial officer Leslie A. Kirwan said yesterday the authority had seen an odd situation during holiday weeks when business travel is normally very light: Leisure travelers looking for discounts jammed the economy lots, in some cases forcing Massport to send them off the airport to Chelsea parking lots, while the vast central garage sat nearly empty.

By luring more people to park in the garage when it's mostly empty, and by reducing the expense of running shuttle buses, Massport "expects revenues will exceed the lost income from the discount," Kirwan said. The Christmas discounted rate lasts for as many days as you stay.

After reviewing how many people use the discount at Thanksgiving and Christmas, she added, Massport may look to offer the discount next year during other weeks when family travel is high but business travel is slow.

Peter J. Howe can be reached at howe@globe.com.