Airlines, short of pilots, are reducing flights this summer. It’s expected to make airline seats harder to find and more expensive. But Maine’s two major airports will buck that trend.
In Portland, Jetport Manager Paul Bradbury said there will be a record number of seats on flights this summer.
“We’re a really important market,” Bradbury said, noting that leisure travelers are still driving the comeback in air travel.
The pilot shortage is most acute for smaller, regional airlines that often serve smaller markets. But Bradbury said Portland “is just big enough to really take advantage of the larger aircraft.”
Figures show airlines will have more than 150,000 seats for air travelers in July and August, the first time that level of capacity has been reached.
Last year, airlines tried out new, nonstop routes to Portland, hoping to lure tourists who wanted to come to Maine. Bradbury said most of those routes have been discontinued, but the airport now serves 26 locations around the country. There are nonstop flights from Portland as far south as Miami and as far west as Dallas, Denver and Minneapolis.
At Bangor International Airport, Manager Anthony Caruso said his airport is also avoiding any reduction in capacity for the summer season.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
