Bradley International Airport Eyes Continued Growth, Construction in 2020
WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. — Bradley International Airport drew about 7 million passengers in 2019, besting its 2018 mark of 6.7 million by more than 2%.
2019 was the seventh straight year of passenger gains at Bradley, said Kevin A. Dillon, CEO of the Connecticut Airport Authority, which oversees Bradley.
“We are in a very competitive environment,” Dillon said.
Bradley must fight not only for passenger traffic but also for airlines and their resources, and often for the planes themselves.
“What we offer is convenience that the New York Airports can’t offer, that the Boston airport can’t offer,” Dillon said.
The airport welcomed those 7 million travelers in a year when it also added an airline and more nonstop routes, continued its capital improvement plan and saw cargo traffic go up 27% — an increase driven in large part by a freight handling partners of Amazon bringing in four wide-body flights a day.
2019 was also a tragic year for Bradley. In October, a World War II B-17 bomber operated by the Collings Foundation lost power soon after taking off on a sightseeing flight. The plane crashed on landing back at the airport, killing seven people and injuring seven others.
Dillon said no one at Bradley wants to presuppose the results of a National Transportation Safety Board investigation. But based on a preliminary report that came out weeks after the crash, he said Bradley officials have no reason to make any adjustments or physical changes to the airport. Dillon said Bradley will comply with any recommendations that do come in the final report.
Bradley has taken steps toward starting construction this year on its long-awaited ground transportation center, a $210 million project. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking in July. That followed a major 2019 road reconstruction project that made room for the center.
The new center will have rental cars and a bus station as Bradley expands its air-to-ground connections with public transit. It will be paid for with the facilities use surcharge on rental cars.
Enhanced ground transportation will include frequent connections between Bradley and the CTrail train service linking Springfield, Hartford and New Haven, along with towns in between.
"That's something we hear from passengers, particularly our European passengers," Dillon said. "They want an airport that is linked in with a rail system."
As it stands, the Bradley Flyer bus offers hourly service between the airport and Hartford Union Station. But Dillon said he hopes to expand bus service, even offering regular long-distance service from as far away as southern Vermont as a convenience to passengers.
Completion of the ground transportation facility is expected in 2022.
“People will start to get a handle over the next few months as to how the landscape is going to change here,” Dillon said.
In 2019 Bradley added a new airline, Frontier, with service to Denver; Orlando, Florida; and recently Miami.
Bradley’s only international service — Aer Lingus to Dublin — upgraded its Bradley flight to its newest long-distance aircraft, the Airbus A 321 LR.
"It's nice to have a brand-new aircraft with WiFi and various amenities on it," Dillon said.
The goal is to add more transatlantic service, with London the most in-demand city, Dillon said.
Domestically, the Airport Authority has focused on the possibility of adding service to several cities, with Seattle remaining at the top of the list.
“We think there are lot of obvious business connections with the aerospace industry in this area,” Dillon said of Seattle. “And it’s also a connector to Asia for us.”
Other cities on the wish list include Nashville, Tennessee; Austin, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida; and Milwaukee. All present good nonstop markets for air travelers from southern New England.
There is competition for new routes, Dillon said. Airlines only have so many planes and crews.
"Carriers are always looking at opportunities," he said. "They are going to put the airplanes where they can get the most return."
But Bradley has 4.4 million people living within a 90-minute drive, and its cost per enplanement is $8 to $9 versus $20 or so at the Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York.
“So we are in a very good position from a cost standpoint to offer a good bargain to the airlines,” he said. “It’s a matter of convincing them the market exists here.”
Bradley is also updating its look. A program to rebuild all the public bathrooms will cost $6 million. Also on tap is a new elevator.
The airport recently completed a move of explosive detection machines into their own room, freeing up terminal space and speeding up the check-in experience. Now passengers check in, put their baggage on a conveyor and it goes to the remote room for scanning.
“What we are after, we are trying to get a much useful life as we can out of this building before we have to incur the cost of adding a new terminal,” Dillon said.
Bradley is also intensifying its relationship with Yale University, just down the road in New Haven. Bradley wants to be the first choice for travelers into and out of the world-famous campus, he said. That means dedicated bus service, at least on holidays, in the future. He’d also like to establish a regular shuttle during the school year.
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