Latest news with #Massport
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Massport pushing to make the state a hub for sustainable aviation fuels
Among the suggestions: Pass legislation to create tax credits that would encourage sustainable aviation fuel blends, storage, and production infrastructure, and new kinds of fuel technologies. While Massport has already asked the US Department of Energy to study the region's current sustainable aviation fuel assets, the task force also wants to identify existing state programs that could be used to support and grow the industry. Davey said he hopes Massachusetts can become a big player in this emerging industry, by fostering startups that can engineer more environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional petroleum-based jet fuel, and by prompting the airlines that use Massport-run Logan Airport to increasingly blend sustainable aviation fuels, primarily biofuels, with their conventional fuel. Advertisement Current technology and regulations allow for up to 50 percent biofuel in jet engine tanks. While its use is rapidly rising, biofuels still represent less than 2 percent of all jet fuel in the US market. Advertisement 'We're not going to stop flying,' Davey said. 'On the flip side, we have a [climate] crisis we need to address.' Davey pitched the idea of creating a sustainable aviation fuel hub to Healey soon after he started as Massport chief executive last year. 'What we found in this journey is that this is not only about improving or reducing gas emissions in Massachusetts,' Davey said. 'It's also an economic development play.' Toward that end, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center has access to newly created tax credits and capital grants tailored specifically for climate-tech businesses, funded by a $4 billion economic development bond bill that the Legislature passed last year. The working group would like to augment those subsidies with tax credits that could be applied against the state's jet fuel tax to encourage the big airlines to add more biofuels to their tanks. (Airlines paid around $50 million in jet fuel taxes in Massachusetts last year.) Davey said the legislation could include a cap on how much is spent each year, like what has been done in several other states that already offer these incentives. 'I'm cognizant that while we want to solve this problem, the state budget right now is a bit murky,' Davey said. 'We need to balance that uncertainty and all the services we provide [from state government] with this potential incentive.' Some research and development in sustainable aviation fuels is already happening here. Chief growth officer Ben Downing pointed to two startups affiliated with the nonprofit incubator and accelerator where he works, The Engine in Cambridge: Lydian Labs, which is creating carbon-neutral aviation fuels, and Sora Fuel, which aims to make fuel out of carbon removed from the air. Advertisement Downing said Massport's leadership should help spur similar startups, in part because of the opportunities that the port authority could provide to commercialize sustainable fuel technologies by working with suppliers and airlines. 'We've seen Rich and his team lead [on this issue],' Downing said. 'There's a proactive nature to their approach that puts Massachusetts in a really interesting position to be not just a place where these things get invented but potentially where these companies grow. ... That's a model for other key anchor institutions and it's really hopeful and promising for this sector.' Jon Chesto can be reached at
Boston Globe
09-05-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
How will Trump's trade war with China affect shipping up to Boston? Quite a bit, Massport says.
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Gleason informed the Massport board that shipping consortium Ocean Alliance will adjust its schedule of Evergreen-operated ships from a weekly service at Conley to every two weeks due to a reduction in the cargo volume being imported into New England from China. The port authority, she said, doesn't know its schedule for Conley beyond June. Gleason said her staff anticipated this scenario as a byproduct of the tariff tiff between the US and China. The change, she said, also affects Evergreen visits to the ports of New York, Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Georgia. Advertisement Gleason also presented a forecast for June that shows a significant drop-off in shipping volume from the same month a year ago, with fewer Evergreen visits and retailers in general cutting back on orders. She estimates 8,900 TEUs — or 20-foot containers — worth of cargo will be processed at Conley in June, down by roughly a third from the 13,600 TEUs processed in June 2024. ('TEU' stands for 'Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit,' the amount of cargo that can fit in a standard 20-foot container.) Advertisement It's too early to predict the potential impact on the 300 or so International Longshoremen's Association workers who handle cargo at Conley, or the other businesses in and around Boston that help move freight in and out of the port. US Representative Stephen Lynch, a Democrat from South Boston, said a typical visit from an Evergreen ship can put 70 to 80 ILA members to work as they move cargo on and off the ship over a 24-hour period. Should a major China tariff remain in place for much longer, it could have a huge economic impact here, Lynch said. 'I'm hoping for the best, but this wasn't done with a lot of thought,' he said. 'It would normally take several years to do a major trade agreement.' The loss of two ship visits represents a small portion of the roughly 20 ship visits that Massport says occurs at Conley each month. However, China is arguably the most important country for goods moved in and out of Conley, representing half of its imports last year and around a third of its total business. Evergreen is the primary shipper of Chinese goods in and out of the port, though other companies carry products from China as well. Top Chinese imports for the Boston port include furniture, plastic items, electric machinery, toys, and seafood. Advertisement Jon Chesto can be reached at
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
American Airlines to bring back flights between Worcester and Philadelphia
American Airlines will once again offer direct flights between Worcester Regional Airport and Philadelphia International Airport in Pennsylvania starting in July, the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) recently announced. The new flights will begin on July 5. The Worcester-Philadelphia route was offered by American Airlines for three years until 2021, according to the Telegram & Gazette. After those flights ended, American Airlines offered trips from Worcester to the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The return of the Philadelphia flights comes as American Airlines cancels its service between Worcester and JFK, according to MassPort's announcement. 'New York City will continue to be served on Delta Airline's daily flight to LaGuardia Airport,' Massport said in an April 18 announcement. Spokespeople from Massport did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MassLive on Friday about why the JFK route was dropped. Bookings for flights are available now. Ticket prices for a round trip between Worcester and Philadelphia during the week of July 7 range as low as $184 on Tuesday and Wednesday to as high as $223 on Sunday, according to American Airlines' website. Downtown Worcester Mexican restaurant closes its doors Former Speaker Pelosi: Rep. McGovern's daughter 'truly angelic in her goodness' This is where Worcester's school superintendent will work next Read the original article on MassLive.
Boston Globe
10-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
‘Tumult and uncertainty': Massport gets ready for potential slowdown at shipping terminals, Logan Airport
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'We have to be prudent but we're not panicking,' Davey said. 'We feel reasonably confident that for the first half of 2025, travel should remain reasonably strong. It remains to be seen in the back half of the year whether there will be a softening.' Advertisement So what's keeping Davey up at night? Here are a few crucial factors. Cargo ship fees The Office of the United States Trade Representative Advertisement Davey mentioned these fees first when asked at an Associated Industries of Massachusetts event on Tuesday how Trump's policies might affect freight coming into Boston. Data provided by Massport show that 21 Chinese-made vessels stopped at Conley last year, representing one-fifth of the market share, and considerably less than the industry average. But Davey's still worried, especially after the port authority 'It's entirely possible that ocean carriers might say 'Forget it, I'm not calling Boston and paying $1 million, I'll just stop in New York and pay the fee,'' Davey said in an interview. The new fees could also drive up costs of goods to consumers, much like Trump's tariffs would do. The industry pushback has been severe, and reports have started circulating that US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer may pare back the proposal. 'Bringing back more ship and maritime manufacturing to the United States, that's good,' Davey said. 'How you're achieving it? Not so good.' Massport CEO Rich Davey addressed the Associated Industries of Massachusetts this week about the impact that President Trump's tariffs could have on travel this year. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff Tariffs Unlike air travel, cargo volumes still haven't returned to pre-pandemic levels at Conley. Trump's tariffs won't help. While Trump put many of the higher tariffs on pause on Wednesday, all trading partners still face a 10 percent tariff on goods coming into the US. And for China, the minimum actually went up, to 145 percent. That's bad news for Conley because more tonnage arrives from China than any other country, by far. Advertisement Davey seems particularly concerned about Trump's threatened tariff of 200 percent on all wine and spirits imported from Europe. It's a big business for Massport: If Trump follows through with his threat, that could affect the costs of 10 percent of products imported through Conley — another threat that could drive down shipping volumes there. There's also the fear that opening up trade wars with other countries (or other unfriendly policies) could deter their residents from choosing to vacation in the US. Recession Trump's various trade battles are one reason why economists have said the 'The ones we've spoken to in the last couple of days have said they still expect a solid second quarter, April through June,' Davey said. 'Beyond that, it's hard to project. ... There's so much uncertainty. Major policy decisions are happening daily.' Delta Air Lines, the busiest carrier at Logan, offered a somber prelude during its quarterly earnings call on Wednesday. Chief executive Ed Bastian said the airline started the year expecting strong growth. But now, he said, 'given broad economic uncertainty around global trade, growth has largely stalled.' As a result, Delta is keeping its jet capacity flat when compared to last year, with domestic main cabin seats actually declining. Advertisement A Delta Air Lines flight arrives at Boston Logan International Airport in 2023. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Federal funding cuts One bright spot, if you can call it that: Massport's budget doesn't rely on federal dollars, so the massive operating cuts implemented in the federal government by Elon Musk and his ilk should only have a minimal impact on Massport operations. (The Federal Aviation Administration does support Logan with its air traffic controllers, but Davey believes the federal government might spend more to bolster those crews, not less.) The port authority's operations are essentially self-funded, largely from fees collected at Logan Airport. Davey said its annual revenues total $1.3 billion, while operating expenses are around $680 million; the rest is used to pay down debt or make capital improvements. But federal cuts in other areas, such as research funding, could curb travel, particularly for a local economy that's highly reliant on 'Our economy depends on students and universities and medical institutions,' Davey said. 'That drives some of the travel in and out of Logan. To the extent that the administration has been focused on education grants and HHS (Health and Human Services) grants, that could have a ripple effect on business travel.' For now, Davey's taking a wait-and-see attitude, and remains hopeful about Massport's initial projection of 44.8 million passengers through Logan this year, up from 43.5 million in 2024. He's asked chief financial officer John Pranckevicius to put together a prudent budget for the next fiscal year, and he's prepared to delay capital projects if necessary, just like Massport did during the pandemic when air travel dropped by some 90 percent at Logan. Davey doesn't expect anything as severe to occur now. Advertisement 'The tumult and uncertainty today is not to anybody's liking,' Davey added. 'But it's not like anything we had five years ago.' Jon Chesto can be reached at
Axios
20-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Massport reaches deal with Uber on Logan Airport rides and fees
Massport reached a deal with Uber and Lyft, reducing the surcharge the agency had originally proposed for rides from Logan Airport. Why it matters: The deal leads to a smaller surcharge for rides and expanded curbside access, Massport and Uber said in a joint statement Wednesday. Driving the news: The new proposal would raise surcharges from $3.25 to $5.50 for Uber and Lyft rides at Logan. Massport would pilot "expanded curbside access" for ride-app users, though the announcement does not specify whether it would expand beyond the central drop-off and pickup area. Zoom in: Uber and Lyft would add some new ride options to get more passengers in each vehicle: UberX Share, the option that lets people share rides with others, and Lyft's equivalent at Logan. Those trips will have a surcharge of $1.50 per trip. A last-mile Uber program to encourage use of Logan Express Uber and Lyft shuttle services at Logan. Uber and Lyft would also increase the window of time when a driver dropping off a passenger is eligible to accept a pickup request.
