Boston Logan International Airport
2010 Boston Logan International Airport Air Passenger Ground Access Survey
PREPARED FOR: Massachusetts Port Authority Economic Planning and Development Department
PREPARED BY: RICONDO & ASSOCIATES, INC.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH: Resource Systems Group, Inc. Granite State Marketing Research, Inc. December 2010
Boston-Logan International Airport
Table of Contents 1. Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Background ...... 1 1.1.1 Facilities and Service Changes since the 2007 Survey ...... 1 1.1.2 New England Regional Aviation System Plan Update in 2004 ...... 2 1.1.3 Scheduling of the 2010 Survey and Events Affecting the Sampling Process ...... 2 1.2 Survey Objectives ...... 2 1.3 Organization of This Report ...... 3 2. Survey Methodology ...... 3 2.1 Questionnaire Design ...... 4 2.1.1 Questionnaire Content ...... 4 2.1.2 Paper-based Questionnaire Format ...... 6 2.1.3 Online Questionnaire Format ...... 7 2.2 Sampling Plan ...... 8 2.2.1 Sample Flight Selection ...... 8 2.2.2 Sample Adjustments ...... 9 2.2.3 Characteristics of the Sampled Flights ...... 11 2.3 Survey Administration ...... 15 2.3.1 Survey Fielding Preparation ...... 15 2.3.2 Survey Fielding ...... 16 2.4 Dataset Development ...... 17 2.4.1 Sample Weighting ...... 17 2.4.2 Data Cleaning ...... 18 2.4.3 Final Dataset ...... 19 3. Results—Summary Comparison with Prior Years ...... 20 3.1 Profile of Logan Airport Air Passengers ...... 20 3.2 Ground Access Mode Comparison ...... 22 4. Detailed Results—2010 Air Passenger Ground Access Survey ...... 24 4.1 Profile of Logan Airport Air Passengers ...... 24 4.2 Ground Access Modes ...... 30 4.2.1 HOV Access ...... 32 4.2.2 Logan Express Service Stated Preference Question ...... 33 4.3 Private Vehicle Access and Parking ...... 34 4.4 Terminal Waiting Times ...... 35 4.5 Terminal Concessions Spending ...... 36 4.6 Expected Ground Egress Modes ...... 37 4.7 Use of Other Airports in the Region ...... 38 5. Conclusions and Recommendations ...... 39 5.1 Summary of Findings ...... 39 5.2 Experience Gained during the 2010 Survey ...... 39 5.2.1 Questionnaire Design ...... 39 5.2.2 Future Questionnaire Recommendations ...... 39
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Boston-Logan International Airport List of Appendices Appendix A—Paper-based Survey Questionnaire Appendix B—Screenshots of the Online Questionnaire Appendix C—List of Sampled Flights Appendix D—Survey Count Sheet Appendix E—Tabulations and Cross Tabulations of Survey Results
List of Tables Table 1 Calculation of Sampling Interval ...... 9 Table 2 Airlines by Terminals (April-May, 2010) ...... 13 Table 3 Final Dataset – Determination of Usable Responses ...... 19 Table 4 Share of Ground Access Trips by Market Segment, Weekday Trips (1996– 2010) ...... 20 Table 5 Distribution of Air Passengers’ Gender, All Trips (2004-2007) ...... 21 Table 6 Distribution of Air Passengers’ Age, All Trips (2004-2007) ...... 21 Table 7 Share of Ground Access Trips by Mode, All Trips (2007–2010) ...... 22 Table 8 Distribution of Ground Access Trips by Area of Origin, All Trips (1996– 2010) ...... 23 Table 9 Distribution of Logan Airport Ground Access Trips by Market Segment (2010) ...... 24 Table 10 Market Segment by Trip Origin Area, All Trips (2010) ...... 27 Table 11 Gender Distribution by Market Segment, All Trips (2010) ...... 27 Table 12 Income Distribution of Air Passengers (2010) ...... 28 Table 13 Household Income by Market Segment (2010) ...... 29 Table 14 Flight Distance by Market Segment (2010) ...... 29 Table 15 Distribution of Ground Access Trips by Access Mode (2010) ...... 30 Table 16 Average Occupancy by Access Mode, Weekday Trips Only (2010) ...... 31 Table 17 Travel Party Size by Trip Purpose, All Trips (2010) ...... 32 Table 18 High Occupancy Vehicle Mode Share by Market Segment (2010) ...... 32 Table 19 Percent of Air Passengers that May Change Access Mode to Logan Express (2010) ...... 33 Table 20 Distribution of Private Vehicle Parking Locations (2010) ...... 34 Table 21 Distribution of Parking Duration (2010) ...... 34 Table 22 Distribution of Terminal Waiting Times (2010) ...... 35 Table 23 Distribution of Terminal Concessions Spending by Dollar Amount and Concession Type (2010) ...... 36 Table 24 Distribution of Expected Ground Egress Mode Shares (2010) ...... 37 Table 25 Use of Regional Airports, Weekday Trips (2010) ...... 38
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List of Exhibits Exhibit 1 New Question on the 2010 Survey Questionnaire: Logan Express Parking and Fare Stated Preference ...... 5 Exhibit 2 New Question on the 2010 Survey Questionnaire: Concessions Preferences and Spending ...... 5 Exhibit 3 Cover Page of Paper-based Survey ...... 6 Exhibit 4 Screen Shot of the Logan Airport WiFi Landing Page with Live Link to 2010 Survey Questionnaire ...... 7 Exhibit 5 Distribution of Sampled Flights by Aircraft Type ...... 11 Exhibit 6 Distribution of Sampled Flights by Terminal ...... 12 Exhibit 7 Distribution of Sampled Flights by Scheduled Flight Departure Time ...... 14 Exhibit 8 Distribution of Sampled Flights by Survey Period Day ...... 15 Exhibit 9 Distribution of Average Daily Ground Access Trips to Logan Airport by Massachusetts Municipality ...... 25 Exhibit 10 Distribution of Average Daily Ground Access Trips to Logan Airport by Regional Municipality ...... 26
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1. Introduction This report presents the results of the 2010 Air Passenger Ground Access Survey (the 2010 Survey) conducted by the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) at Boston-Logan International Airport (Logan Airport or the Airport) in April and May 2010. The report presents a description of the methodology used in designing, conducting, and administering the survey; a comparison with some key results of previous surveys; and detailed results of the 2010 Survey. 1.1 Background Since 1979, Massport has conducted periodic surveys of departing air passengers at Logan Airport to gather information on air passenger ground access patterns. The survey is designed to help Massport monitor air passenger ground access patterns and other important characteristics of departing air passengers at Logan Airport to measure the effects of changes in ground access facilities or service and to plan future ground access improvements. The first ground access survey was conducted in April 1979 and, since then, Massport has conducted the survey approximately every 3 years. Specifically, previous surveys were conducted in:
• April 1979 • April–May 1993 • April 1984 • April–May 1996 • August 1984 • April–May 1999 • April–May 1987 • October 2003 • April–May 1990 • April–May 2007
A separate large-scale ground access survey was also conducted at Logan Airport as part of the New England Regional Aviation System Plan Update in 2004, as discussed in Section 1.1.2 To maintain consistency among survey-to-survey results, Massport typically conducts the survey in April and May; however, circumstances occasionally influence a change in the survey period. For example, in 2003, the survey was scheduled for the first 2 weeks of April, but the initiation of military operations in Iraq in March, combined with the outbreak and subsequent spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) resulted in significant reductions in airline travel during spring 2003. The 2003 Survey was postponed twice to later in the spring. On May 20, 2003, the Department of Homeland Security raised the Advisory System threat level to Orange, representing a “high risk of terrorist attack” following al Qaeda-linked suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco, and Massport security officials decided that the air passenger ground access survey could not be conducted while the Orange threat level condition persisted. The survey was postponed until October because Massport officials decided that a fall survey period would provide more compatible results with prior year surveys than would a summer survey period. 1.1.1 Facilities and Service Changes since the 2007 Survey Since the 2007 Survey was conducted, Logan Airport has experienced growth in low-cost carrier service. Low-cost carriers’ share of the domestic jet passenger market was 32 percent in May 2007 and increased to just over 37 percent in May 2010. AirTran Airways, JetBlue Airways, and Spirit Airlines operated at the Airport during the 2007 Survey period, and several other low-cost carriers have initiated service since the 2007 Survey period: Porter Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, and Virgin America.
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Boston-Logan International Airport Since 2007, no significant changes have been implemented to the ground access network serving Logan Airport that would influence air passenger ground access behavior. 1.1.2 New England Regional Aviation System Plan Update in 2004 As part of the New England Regional Aviation System Plan Update (a project cosponsored by Massport, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission), a survey of approximately 5,500 air passengers was conducted at Logan Airport in 2004. Surveys were concurrently conducted at nine other New England airports. Similar sampling methods and survey instruments were used for consistency with prior air passenger surveys at Logan Airport, although several questions were added to the questionnaire to address the specific needs of the System Plan update. Databases containing the survey results were provided to the managers at each participating airport upon completion of the update. 1.1.3 Scheduling of the 2010 Survey and Events Affecting the Sampling Process The 2010 Survey was scheduled to maintain the historical spring survey timeframe and was administered from April 29 through May 12, 2010. Two events affected air travel at Logan Airport during the survey period:
• The volcano Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland erupted on April 14, 2010, about 1.5 weeks before the survey was to be conducted. The plume of volcanic ash spewed from Iceland south and east over most of continental Europe and the United Kingdom, causing the cancellation of many flights destined for Europe for a week. Many, but not all, European airports had reopened by the time the survey was initiated.
• A water main in Weston, Massachusetts, broke on Saturday, May 1, 2010, and the entire water supply within the Route 128 beltway was considered contaminated. Although this event did not affect air traffic at Logan Airport directly, JetBlue was required to cancel most of its morning flights on Sunday, May 2, because the JetBlue maintenance crew had cleaned and filled its aircraft with untreated water. 1.2 Survey Objectives The objectives of the 2010 Survey were as follows:
• Assess ground access mode share—The survey is the principal tool used to gauge the mode shares of air passengers traveling to Logan Airport. Mode share is reported in the annual environmental documentation for the Airport.
• Develop a profile of air passenger characteristics—Results of the survey are used to develop a profile of air passengers, which is then used to understand the influences on air passenger ground access mode choices.
• Update existing data on ground access travel behavior—The survey was designed to capture data describing air passenger ground access travel behavior as of spring 2010, which can be compared to data collected in prior surveys to understand long-term trends in such behavior.
• Capture other air passenger characteristics to support various planning efforts—The survey was designed to capture other data relevant to efforts such as terminal or concessions planning. The primary objective of the survey was to compare the results of the 2010 Survey with the results from prior year surveys so that the trends in ground access could be clearly identified, and a consistent history of results and trends could be maintained so that future surveys could further
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Boston-Logan International Airport extend the analysis of such trends. Survey results are used in long-range operational and capital project planning. 1.3 Organization of This Report This report is organized as follows:
• Section 2 describes the methodology used to conduct the survey, including the questionnaire design, the sampling plan, survey administration, and production of the final dataset.
• Section 3 provides an overview of the survey results and a summary comparison with previous survey results.
• Section 4 describes the results of the 2010 Survey in greater detail.
• Section 5 provides a summary and conclusions regarding the outcome of the project, including lessons learned that can be applied to the next air passenger ground access survey. The report also contains several appendices:
• Appendix A—Paper-based Survey Questionnaire
• Appendix B—Screenshots of the Online Questionnaire
• Appendix C—List of Sampled Flights
• Appendix D—Survey Count Sheet
• Appendix E—Tabulations and Cross Tabulations of Survey Results
2. Survey Methodology The general survey methodology followed in the 2010 Survey largely reflects that used in the 2007 Survey, as follows:
• Only departing air passengers were surveyed in the waiting areas at the Airport departure gates.
• Sampling was conducted based on the expected number of air passengers per flight, and each flight was categorized by aircraft type and total flight distance from Logan Airport.
• A self-completion paper-based questionnaire was handed out to departing air passengers and options for return of completed surveys included a hand-back option in the departure gate waiting area, a prepaid postage mail-back option, and an online completion option, which was offered for the first time during the 2010 Survey.
• Counts of actual boarded air passengers were obtained from the airline gate personnel for use in sample weighting and response rate calculations. Benefits of this survey methodology include:
• Sampling flights provides a statistically valid method to capture a representative sample of all departing air passengers. This sampling methodology allows for expansion of the dataset to the total air passenger activity for the 2-week survey administration period. Furthermore, this sampling methodology allows for the collection of a sufficient sample size within the various passenger population segments (e.g., business versus non-business passengers, short-haul versus medium-haul versus long-haul passengers, international versus domestic passengers) to make comparisons between segments that are statistically significant.
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• Intercepting air passengers in the departure gate waiting areas allows air passengers to respond to the survey during their stay at Logan Airport at a time that typically involves the fewest hassles and distractions; that is, they have already passed through security screening, have located the correct departure gate, and are relaxing for some period prior to boarding their scheduled flights.
• Providing three survey completion return options was anticipated to improve response rates compared with those for the 2007 Survey. Furthermore, Massport staff expressed an interest in conducting future surveys online to allow for customization of survey questions and to save costs related to fielding the survey and data entry; therefore, introducing this option allowed for it to be tested. How the survey methodology was implemented in questionnaire and sample design, administration of the survey, and production of the final dataset are described below. 2.1 Questionnaire Design The 2010 Survey questionnaire content and format (both paper-based on online formats) are discussed in this section. 2.1.1 Questionnaire Content The 2010 Survey questionnaire (see Appendix A for a copy of the paper-based questionnaire) was based on the 2007 Survey questionnaire with a few minor changes. Several questions from the 2007 questionnaire were not included or were reworded in the 2010 questionnaire; the subjects of these excluded or reworded questions, followed by the specific questions, are as follows:
• Questions about accessing Logan Airport using the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Silver Line (a new ground access service added in the period between the 2003 and 2007 surveys) were removed: - “For what proportion of your trips to fly from Logan have you used the Silver Line since it first opened in June of 2005?” - “What mode did you most often use before June of 2005?”
• A question and follow-up question about airline service to other cities were removed: - “Are there any other cities outside the US not presently served non-stop from Logan to which you would like to see new service added?” and - “How many times per year would you use this service?”
• A demographic question regarding age was changed from: - “Which of the following categories best describes your age?” to simply “In what year were you born?” Two new sets of questions were added to the 2010 Survey questionnaire and one question was modified. Also, some questions were arranged in a slightly different order, such as swapping the questions related to mode of access and ground trip origin. The first new question in the 2010 Survey, shown on Exhibit 1, is a stated preference question about the use of Logan Express, the bus service operated by Massport between Logan Airport and endpoints in Braintree, Framingham, Woburn, and Peabody. A stated preference question can be thought of as market testing, or capturing preferences in response to changing conditions (as opposed to a revealed preferences question, which is used to collect data capturing actual choices made).
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Exhibit 1 New Question on the 2010 Survey Questionnaire: Logan Express Parking and Fare Stated Preference
Source: Resource Systems Group, Inc., April 2010.
The second new question on the 2010 Survey, shown on Exhibit 2, is a revealed preference question designed to capture business market opportunities related to air passenger concessions preferences and spending. Exhibit 2 New Question on the 2010 Survey Questionnaire: Concessions Preferences and Spending
Source: Resource Systems Group, Inc., April 2010.
A final change on the 2010 Survey questionnaire consisted of repplacing Hanscom Field with Worcestere Regional Airport in a question intended to collect data on the frequency of using Logan Airport and other regional airports. The other airpoorts listed in this question in the 2010 questionnaire included Manchester-Boston Regional (New Hampshire), T.F. Greeen State (Rhode Island), Bradley International (Connecticut), and Worcester Regional (Massachusetts) Airports.
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Booston-Logan International Airport 2.1.2 Paper-based Questionnaire Format The format of the paper-based questionnaire was redesigned from previous questionnaires for the 2010 Survey. The new design consists of a tetra-fold, 8.5-inch by 17-inch format that includes colorful graphics to increase the visual interest and attractiveness of the questionnaire. Instructions were provided on the cover of the questionnaire, detailingg the three completion options: hand-back in departure gate waiting area, mail-back (postage-free using Business Reply Mail), or complete online. The survey cover is shown on Exhibit 3. A unique password was printed in the middle of the cover of each questionnaire to facilitaatte later identification of the completed questionnaire and to ensure that survey respondents completed the survey only one time (necessary given the online completion option, discussed in Section 2.1.3). Exhibit 3 Cover Page of Paper-based Survey
Source: Resource Systems Group, Inc., April 2010.
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Booston-Logan International Airport 2.1.3 Online Questionnaire Format Online completion of the 2010 Survey was a new option offered to survey respondents. The online questionnaire format provides several benefits in comparison to the paper-based questionnaire format:
• The ability to customize questions based on a respondent’s previous answers and to direct the respondents along a pathway customized to theiir responses, which is not possible using paaper-based questionnaires.
• The collection of clean and validated data with automatically geocoded locations.
• The potential to increase survey response rates by providing a convenient means of survey paarticipation (both for those using laptops at the time they were requested to participate in the survey and those willing to complete the survey at a later, more convenient, time). During survey administration, free WiFi was offered throoughout Logan Airport. A live link to the survey questionnaire was provided on the top left corner of the WiFi landing page (the web page that directs those using the free Airport WiFi to the Internet), as shown on Exhibit 4. Exhibit 4 Screen Shot of the Logan Airport WiFi Landing Page with Live Link to 2010 Survey Questionnaire Live Link to the 2010 Air Passenger Ground Access Survey
Source: Logan Airport free WiFi landing page, as available during the 2010 Air Passenger Ground Access Survey period (accessed April 29, 2010).
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Boston-Logan International Airport The online questionnaire contained the same questions as the paper-based questionnaire, with one exception: the stated preference question, as discussed in Section 2.1.1, differed from the paper-based format of this question shown on Exhibit 1. In the online version of the 2010 Survey questionnaire, two questions preceding the stated preference survey question about the use of Logan Express service were used to identify those online respondents to whom the stated preference survey question applied: those whose local origins were outside the Route 128 beltway and those who did not use Logan Express to access the Airport. The ability to instantaneously geocode respondents’ local origins in the online survey allowed for the identification of origins inside and outside the Route 128 beltway. Eligible respondent were presented with a set of four stated preference questions about Logan Express service. Hypothetical parking costs and fares were varied among the questions, and respondents indicated whether they would switch to Logan Express service or whether they would continue to use the same ground access mode as used for their current trip to the Airport. Screen shots of the online questionnaire are provided in Appendix B. 2.2 Sampling Plan The sample for the 2010 Survey was designed to be consistent with that of the 2007 Survey. An interval sampling approach was used, such that each flight scheduled to leave Logan Airport in the 2- week survey period had a selection probability proportional to the seating capacity of the aircraft, a proxy for the expected number of air passengers boarding the aircraft. The sample was also stratified by departure times and flight distances. The departure times were categorized for sampling and scheduling purposes into three categories: 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. The flight distance categories were defined as: less than 500 miles, 500 to 1,500 miles, and greater than 1,500 miles. Flight distance was used as a representative indicator of trip distance that may be associated with amount of time spent away by the passenger and amount of baggage carried per passenger. The sampling method described in this section allows for selection of a subset of flights (the sample flights) from the total list of scheduled departing flights during the survey period, as surveying all flights is not practical. The method also includes identification of alternate flights with similar characteristics to the sample flights in the event of a delay or cancellation of a sample flight to provide flexibility to respond to changing conditions during the survey period. The sampling of flights to be surveyed, adjustments to the list of selected flights, and characteristics of the sample flights are described below. 2.2.1 Sample Flight Selection Massport established the targeted number of responses at 8,000 completed questionnaires, consistent with completion targets for previous surveys, to achieve a statistically significant sample. This large sample size was established to allow for comparisons between various passenger segments (such as between business and non-business passengers, resident and non-resident passengers, domestic and international passengers, and weekday and weekend passengers), as well as between various combinations of these passenger segments (such as resident business passengers traveling during weekdays versus weekends). A sample size of 200 to 400 passengers within each passenger segment analyzed is required to produce statistically significance results. Based on an anticipated number of usable responses per expected air passenger departing on a flight, the average number of expected departing air passengers per flight, and the total expected number of departing air passengers at Logan Airport during the 2-week survey period, the sampling interval was calculated to be every 2,538th air passenger and the number of flights to be sampled during the survey period was calculated to be 199, as shown in Table 1.
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Table 1 Calculation of Sampling Interval
Target Response Size 8,000 Divided by Expected Usable Questionnaires per Air Passenger 0.5 Equals Required Air Passengers in Sample 16,000 Divided by Average Expected Air Passengers per Flight 80 Equals Required Number of Flights for Sample 199 Divided into Total Expected Air Passengers for Survey Period 505,194 Equals Required Sampling Interval 2,538
Source: Resource Systems Group, Inc., April 2010.
Official Airline Guides, Inc. (OAG) data for the 2-week survey period provided information on scheduled seats per flight, load factors, and departure times. The process followed to develop the list of flights to be sampled was the same as that used in the 2007 Survey and included the following steps: 1. Sort the OAG list of flights scheduled for the survey period by flight distance and then by departure time, and then generate the cumulative number of expected air passengers over the survey period (based on aircraft seats). 2. Select a random integer between 1 and the sample interval of 2,538. Using the cumulative expected air passenger numbers in the sorted OAG list of flights, identify the flight that would accommodate the air passenger represented by the selected random integer. This flight is selected as the first flight to be surveyed in the sample. 3. Continue selecting the flight that accommodates each subsequent 2,538th air passenger until all 199 flights within the survey period are selected. This systematic procedure results in the selection of flights among departure times generally consistent with the distribution of actual flight departure times and ensures that the probability of a flight being selected is proportional to the flight’s seating capacity. Once the list of flights to be surveyed was defined during the sampling process, the field schedule for the survey period was developed. To ensure that survey administration was efficient in terms of both logistics and the budget, the field scheduling to survey passengers departing on the selected flights identified in the sample allowed for the surveying of those flights on days other than the exact date that was selected during sampling; however, all selected weekday flights were scheduled to be surveyed on weekdays and all selected weekend flights were scheduled to be surveyed on weekends. Because delays and cancellations routinely occur in airline travel, alternatives were selected for each flight on the scheduled list to facilitate adapting to potentially changing circumstances. The alternative flights had similar characteristics and nearby departure gates to the selected flights. 2.2.2 Sample Adjustments Once survey administration was under way, it became clear that additional flights would need to be surveyed to ensure that the required number of completed questionnaires was obtained. The actual number of completed questionnaires per flight was lower than expected. One trend was the lower than expected proportion of eligible survey respondents on flights served by small aircraft because a high proportion of the air passengers on those flights were connecting passengers and thus not
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Boston-Logan International Airport eligible to participate in the survey. Therefore, the scheduled flight list was adjusted by adding flights from the alternatives list to the schedule, with attention to minimizing changes to the sampling plan procedure to the extent possible. Two specific effects on air travel from Logan Airport were identified in Section 1.1.3. These events affected the sampling plan as follows:
• The volcano Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland erupted 1.5 weeks before the survey was to be initiated. Despite the fact that some airports in Europe had reopened by the time the survey began, to be safe, the sampling was adjusted to reschedule many of the international flights to be surveyed to the second week of the survey period and to substitute some international trips to Spain and Italy that had not been identified in the initial sample. Destinations in southern Europe were not affected as much as destinations in northern Europe. During the first week of the survey period, the schedule of flights to Europe returned to normal, and some of the international European flights were added back into the first week schedule. • The Weston water main break on Saturday, May 1, and the subsequent use of potentially contaminated water by JetBlue maintenance staff to clean and fill the aircraft the following morning resulted in cancellation of JetBlue departures Sunday morning. Once the survey agents and supervisors understood the disruption to the JetBlue schedule, alternate flights were surveyed during the morning of May 2. By the afternoon of May 2, JetBlue resumed its flight schedule and the surveyors resumed the original sampling schedule. A list of the final set of sampled flights is shown in Appendix C.
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Boston-Logan International Airport 2.2.3 Characteristics of the Sampled Flights Exhibit 5 shows the distribution of the final set of sampled flights by aircraft type. As described above, the sampling method results in larger aircraft having a higher probability of selection, and the distribution shown in the exhibit reflects this result. While widebody aircraft accounted for 4 percent of all scheduled departing flights at Logan Airport during the survey period, they accounted for just over 6 percent of the sample. Conversely, while regional jets and turboprops accounted for nearly 48 percent of total scheduled departing flights at the Airport during the survey period, they accounted for about 22 percent of the sample. Exhibit 5 Distribution of Sampled Flights by Aircraft Type
Large Narrowbody 14%
Widebody and Large Widebody Small Narrowbody 6% 58%
Turboprop 3%
Regional Jet 19%
Notes: 1/ Aircraft were categorized as follows: large widebody (A330 series and A340 series, B-747-400, and B-777); widebody (B-767); large narrowbody (B-757 series); small narrowbody (A319, A320, and A321; B-717 and B-737 series; DC-9-50; and MD 80, MD 83, and MD 88); regional jets (Canadair Regional Jet 900; Embraer 170, 175, 190, RJ135, RJ140, and RJ145); and turboprops (Cessna Light aircraft). 2/ Widebody aircraft accounted for less than 0.4 percent of the sampled flights and were combined with large widebody aircraft in this exhibit. Source: Resource Systems Group, Inc., September 2010.
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Boston-Logan International Airport Exhibit 6 shows the distribution of sampled flights by terminal at the Airport, and Table 2 provides a reference list of which airlines operated out of each terminal in April 2010. About 35 percent of the sampled flights departed from Terminal B, 28 percent departed from Terminal C, and 27 percent departed from Terminal A. This distribution generally reflects that of the Airport as a whole, but, as noted above, it also factors in the higher probability of selecting larger (widebody) aircraft for the survey. For example, the international flights that account for the majority of Terminal E operations typically are operated with larger aircraft. Thus, while Terminal E represents about 3 percent of total international departures, it accounts for 9 percent of the survey sample. Since the 2007 Survey, the share of flights from Terminal A has continued to increase, from 16 percent in 2007 to 27 percent in 2010. Exhibit 6 Distribution of Sampled Flights by Terminal Terminal C Terminal E 28% Domestic 4% Terminal E International 9%
Terminal B 35% Terminal A 27%
Source: Resource Systems Group, Inc., September 2010.
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Table 2 Airlines by Terminals (April-May, 2010) Terminal E Terminal A Terminal B 2/ Terminal C Domestic International • Alaska Airlines • American Airlines • AirTran Airways • Southwest • Aer Lingus • Continental Airlines • Frontier Airlines • Cape Air Airlines • Alitalia • Delta Air Lines • Midwest Airlines • JetBlue Airways • British Airways • Delta Shuttle • Spirit Airlines • Sun Country Airlines • Iberia • Virgin America • United Airlines • Icelandair • Air Canada • Lufthansa • US Airways • Porter Airlines • SATA Internacional • Société Air France • Swiss International Air Lines • Virgin Atlantic Airways
Notes: 1/ This table lists the primary airlines operating from Logan Airport by departure terminal in April-May 2010, and is not considered a comprehensive list. 2/ Airlines in Terminal B–American Airlines included American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and Virgin America. Airlines in Terminal B–US Airways included Air Canada and US Airways.
Source: Massachusetts Port Authority, April 2010.
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Boston-Logan International Airport The distribution of sampled flights by departure time is shown on Exhibit 7. The exhibit indicates that generally busier periods represent a higher proportion of flights in the survey sample. In addition, the end of the day is predominantly characterized by commuter flights; because of their lower seating capacity, these flights were less likely to be selected for the sample. Exhibit 7 Distribution of Sampled Flights by Scheduled Flight Departure Time
30
25
20
15
Sampled Flights 10
5
0
Time Interval
Source: Resource Systems Group, Inc., September 2010.
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Boston-Logan International Airport The number of flights sampled each day of the survey period is shown on Exhibit 8. The exhibit illustrates the addition of flights to the sample toward the latter part of the survey period to ensure that the target number of completed surveys was captured. The distribution of sampled flights per day also illustrates the disruptions to the sampling plan during the first few days of the survey period resulting from the volcanic eruption and the interruption of JetBlue service during the morning of May 2, 2010. Exhibit 8 Distribution of Sampled Flights by Survey Period Day
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 Sampled Flights 5 0
Source: Resource Systems Group, Inc., September 2010.
2.3 Survey Administration Resource Systems Group, Inc. (RSG) administered the 2010 Survey at Logan Airport from April 29 through May 12, 2010. The survey was conducted in the departure gate waiting areas of all selected flights by survey agents from Granite State Marketing Research (GSMR), a subcontractor with prior air passenger survey experience at Logan Airport. 2.3.1 Survey Fielding Preparation Prior to actually conducting the survey in the field (i.e., “fielding” the survey), the Massport Director of Aviation sent letters to the airline station managers notifying them of the scheduled survey dates and requesting their cooperation with the survey. All survey field staff (field managers, field supervisors, and survey agents) went through the full security badging process at Logan Airport: training class, background check, and fingerprinting. Survey field staff also participated in a training session prior to fieldwork, during which they were educated on the purposes of and how to conduct the survey (e.g., the purpose of the survey, survey procedures, the introductory script to initiate discussion with air passengers), as well as the logistics of conducting the survey (e.g., terminal locations, how to move between terminals, and how to pass through security checkpoints).
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Boston-Logan International Airport A total of 19,000 questionnaires were printed to ensure that survey agents had adequate supplies at all times. The questionnaires were stored in a centrally located room, provided by Massport, that served as survey headquarters. Along with two field managers from RSG, GSMR supplied three field supervisors and all survey agents. All survey agents checked in at survey headquarters at least one hour before their shifts began to collect their shift schedule of flights and the survey materials (e.g., paper-based questionnaires and count sheets, provided in Appendix D). Survey agents also reported back to survey headquarters at the end of their shifts to submit completed surveys. 2.3.2 Survey Fielding Survey agents were grouped into teams, and each team was assigned a series of flights. For each flight to be surveyed, a team of survey agents was tasked with distributing questionnaires to all air passengers in the flight’s departure gate waiting area. Survey agents arrived at their assigned departure gate one hour before the scheduled departure time for a flight. The survey agents notified the airline gate personnel that they would be conducting the survey of air passengers booked on that flight and, once the gate for the flight was closed, the survey agent asked the airline gate personnel for the final boarding count for the flight (i.e., total air passengers onboard, number of children, number of connecting air passengers, and number of employees traveling as air passengers). To implement the survey, survey agents briefly introduced themselves to air passengers in the departure gate waiting area, as follows: “Your flight has been selected by Logan Airport to be a part of an important planning study, and we are asking you to complete this survey and hand it back, take it online, or mail it back.” Before distributing a questionnaire to an air passenger, the survey agent confirmed that the passenger was not connecting at Logan Airport (and, therefore, did not access the Airport via ground access modes) and, if in doubt, confirmed that the passenger was at least 16 years old, the age at which the passenger may be able to drive themselves to the Airport. The survey agent handed out questionnaires and pens to all qualifying air passengers, and then circulated back among the passengers to collect the completed surveys. A field manager was stationed in survey headquarters at all times in case survey agents called in to report the cancellation or delay of an assigned flight. In those instances, the field manager assigned the survey team to an alternate flight. Additionally, the field manager provided additional survey materials to the survey agents, if needed. If the field managers were not otherwise busy supporting the field agents, they reviewed returned questionnaires for completeness and accuracy. At the end of an assigned shift, survey agents returned to survey headquarters and turned in all completed questionnaires, any extra questionnaires that had not been handed out, and their count sheets for each surveyed flight. If time allowed, the survey agents were able to pick up their materials for the next day. In addition to the paper-based questionnaire, which allowed for handwritten or online responses using a personal laptop, two field managers had iPads, which Apple had recently released (in April 2010). The field managers accompanied survey agents to the departure gates for their assigned flights and asked air passengers if they were interested in taking the survey using the new iPads. The intent was to entice air passengers to complete the survey with an opportunity to try out the new technology, thereby potentially increasing the survey response rate. Many air passengers were intrigued with the idea of taking the survey using the iPads, but the technology presented some challenges. Air passengers who were not adept at the touch-screen keypads took longer to take the survey than those taking the paper-based survey, so the iPads tended to frustrate them. Field managers observed that people who were accustomed to touch-screen keypad technology seemed to
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Boston-Logan International Airport be able to complete the survey quickly and easily using the iPad. Furthermore, during periods of high WiFi traffic, some survey pages downloaded slowly. The survey team concluded that the use of technology, such as iPads, as a future survey completion option may be a better tool in the future as more people become familiar with and use this type of technology. 2.4 Dataset Development The final dataset for the survey contains 9,362 usable responses. The sample was weighted and the dataset was cleaned to derive the final dataset, as discussed below. 2.4.1 Sample Weighting Consistent with previous air passenger ground access surveys at Logan Airport, the final dataset was weighted, as described in this section. Step 1: Correct for travel party size effects The travel party size correction depends on whether the variable of interest was assumed to be similar across the traveling party. For example, access mode and arrival time would be similar for every member of a travel party. Gender and age are examples of variables that may not be similar across the travel party. The first stage weight calculation is: