Don't count JetBlue out in the competition for top airline in Boston.
The Massachusetts Port Authority on Thursday gave preliminary approval to a roughly four-year, billion-dollar-plus redevelopment of Boston Logan International Airport's Terminal C, the JetBlue-anchored facility that dates to the 1960s, the Boston Globe first reported.
The plan calls for demolishing the terminal's two "hammerhead" concourses and replacing them with a single hexagonal structure featuring soaring ceilings, skylights, reconfigured gates and seating, and expanded shopping and dining. A reworked airfield layout is expected to cut aircraft idling and reduce related greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 5 to 8 percent, according to Massport CEO Rich Davey.
"This is not about adding more gates," Davey told the Globe, noting the terminal was built for 1960s-era traffic and lacks adequate concessions, restrooms, and hold rooms for today's larger aircraft and record passenger volumes. Logan handled 4 million passengers in June, its busiest month ever.
Why It Matters for Advisors
The project is a statement of intent from JetBlue, which ceded significant ground at Logan to Delta Air Lines during the pandemic as the Atlanta-based carrier aggressively built up its Boston hub. A gleaming new home terminal is a big step toward reclaiming turf in a market JetBlue still counts as its largest hub after New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. While JetBlue recently made inroads in Fort Lauderdale (thanks to the demise of Spirit Airlines) to beef up that airport as a potential fortress hub, Boston is still a key airport for the airline and home to much of its recent international expansion to markets like Milan and Madrid.
Few U.S. airports are as hotly contested as Logan. Delta and JetBlue are the leading carriers in Boston, but American Airlines also holds significant market share, and United Airlines maintains a sizable presence alongside its Star Alliance partners. No single airline dominates the airport the way legacy carriers control their fortress hubs, which keeps fares competitive and gives advisors plenty of routing options for Boston-bound clients.
The carrier's financial struggles are no secret, but there is a silver lining for advisors booking clients through Boston: JetBlue's partner under the Blue Sky alliance, United Airlines, operates a stone's throw away in the connected Terminal B, giving loyalty program members and connecting passengers an increasingly integrated footprint at Logan.
Under the deal structure, JetBlue would partner with Vantage Airport Group — the firm behind LaGuardia Airport's $5.1 billion transformation — to hire the contractor and cover construction costs, then lease the building back from Massport over an estimated 30 to 35 years. Massport is not currently planning to contribute funding, per the Globe.
Lounge Plans Unaffected
The redevelopment will not disrupt two premium openings advisors have been watching. JetBlue's own lounge, slated to open in Terminal C this year, is unaffected by the plan, as is the American Express Centurion Lounge scheduled to open in 2029 in the connector between Terminals C and E.
Terminal C also hosts Aer Lingus, Cape Air, TAP Air Portugal, and Etihad, and Logan's remote terminal in Framingham, MA, will continue serving the facility.
Construction is expected to break ground in about a year, and Massport anticipates minimal disruption to passengers during the build.
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