Logan Airport versus Manchester, NH airport: Advice please! About This Page:

[poohmaine]

Trying to decide if an extra hour drive to Logan is worth the $400 I would save if I flew JetBlue out of Logan versus Southwest out of Manchester, NH.

I haven't flown out of Logan in 20 years. Is it still a huge hassle to drive to Logan? What about the ecomony parking lot: it seems far from the terminals. How safe will my car be for 12 days?

I have also never been to Manchester airport but have heard it is smaller, safer, and very hassle-free.

Advice please! Thanks for your help!

[DisneyM5]

<font color="purple"> I use to always use Logan, then Manchester airport stepped into my life. I love it, it is so much easier and less confusing than Logan. You don't have to do that dreaded drive by looking for your terminal to discover you just passed it.
Is this ? for you trip this December? I got SouthWest from Manchester for $79 one way, when I priced JetBlue they were quoting $69 &amp; 79 about the same price.
</font> <font color="green">Hope this helps </font>

[Skatetigger]

Hi PoohMaine,

Both airports have their pros and cons. I have flown out of both but do a majority of my flying from Logan as I don't mind going there. I don't find it that difficult to get in especially from Rt 1, which is where I think you would be coming in from. Yes there is traffic but the signs are very clear and not bad to get in and out. There is onsite parking that's pretty expensive but there is also Logan Park and Go, which I have used and it was very safe and that's also fairly easy to get to. They have a website where they give you coupons as well.

Manchester is smaller a bit less crowded and parking is cheaper. There are just fewer flights if you get delayed or miss your plane.

Here's one thing I can suggest you might want to look into. There are a number of hotel that offer stay and park rates. The Hilton, the Hyatt, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn. My parents who actually live in NH, will typically do that when flying out of Logan. I believe you can also do a stay in park at the Highlander Inn, at the Manchester airport.

You probably want to go through a comparison and see how much parking will cost at both airports and then extra gas and see if the savings between going out of Manchester or Logan are really that much. In the end you may not save as much.

Hope that helps.

[susancl]

My choice would be Manchester. It is such an easy airport to get around and parking is never an issue. However, for a 12 night stay, you should factor in parking fees. Our last trip, we stayed for 9 days and the parking fee at Manchester was slightly less than we could have paid for a shuttle service. Plus, our battery was dead from the extreme cold we had while we were gone. Luckily, the Manchester garage came within an hour and gave us a jump.

Logan can be more of a hassle, but they have more direct flights to Orlando. If you decide on Logan, check out Logan Express. You can park your car in Peabody, MA and take a shuttle to the airport. I'm not sure how much it is. (We have family all around here, so we use them as our "express")

Susan

[TracyA]

I have never used Logan (don't care for the big city driving) but have used Manchester several times. In fact we are using them in October. I don't know what time your flight is but if you are considering staying overnight the night before your flight then I would recommend Marriott's Springhill Suites. You can request a park and go which means that you can leave your car there and have their shuttle take you to the airport and pick you up. By the way they are right next to the airport. We have 6 of us (me, my DH, and 4 DD's) our flight is at 8:30 am and we have an hour and 45 minute drive to the airport so we decided it was better for us to stay over the night before. If you factor in the fact that we won't have to pay parking, it is only costing us $60 for the night. Hope this helps.

Tracy

[FanOfMickey]

I have flown out of both and prefer Manchester, but it is cheaper for me in the long run. If I fly out of Manchester I can leave my car at my sisters who lives 10 minutes from the airport. My sister will drive me to the airport. If I leave from Logan, I take a cab, which costs about $60 round trip. As far as driving to Logan it is much easier now since the big dig, though I am not sure if that is true coming from the north, it is true coming from west of the city. I also love the Manchester airport, it is smaller and easier to get around. I am flying southwest in September and have a great fare, cheaper then anyone else I had checked. May be worth checking out.

[Lynne O.]

If you do decide to fly out of Logan, there is another Logan Express bus stop in Woburn at Anderson Station (literally right off of rt. 93). You can park your car there and just hop on the Logan Express Bus. I'm not sure what they charge for overnight parking...but the fees for both parking and for the bus are very very reasonable. I will be using the bus from that stop this November. I used it a few years ago too and loved it. You can go to www.LoganExpress.com for all the info on all the stops, rates, etc. It does make stops at all the Logan terminals, but it was quick, easy and sure beats driving around and finding a parking space at Logan Airport.

[BreadBaker]

We've flown out of both and prefer the Manchester airport hands down. Usually when we fly out of Boston, we stay overnight at the Logan Hilton so we buy supper down there (room service is the best bet) and buy the park &amp; fly rate which is about $200 for 8 nights of parking. If you park there by the day (as we did in July), it's $22/night for self-parking. Room service snacks were about $37 for 2 adults and 2 children. So that's one estimate of some extra Logan costs.

Last night I booked December flights from Manchester on Delta for $101 rt before taxes - about $149 including taxes - on travelocity.

Last I knew (last December) the cheap lot at Manchester was $8/day.

BreadBaker

[HueyDeweyandLouiesMom]

We are flying on SONG out of Boston for the great rate and what appears to be a great airline.

We are doing the Park, Stay and FLy and for the night before and 2 weeks of parking it is $118. Much cheaper than even the weekly parking. We used weekly parking when we went from Boston to Dallas in February and I was not overly keen on it, but it went ok. Making sure we had the correct bus back was the hardest part...and it wasn't hard.

The airport itself was easy to navigate, the security people friendly as they could be and the rocking chairs made a long wait easy.

Now...if I could have gotten the same rate from manchester...I would have done it. But if you have a cost savings and it is worth it to you, the airport was not hard to find our way around, it was well labeled and everything was very efficient.

[Joanne929]

If you've figured in parking costs and you're still going to save $400, I would say go to Logan. I think many airports are confusing (because it's not familiar territory), but the signs are clear and easier to read now. Getting to/from Logan is MUCH easier now, that shouldn't be a problem - it will be different, but is easier.

As far as the economy lots, I think they have busses that take you to the terminals. And for safety, I would say you're as safe there as anywhere else you're going to park your car for an extended period.

DH works at Logan, and you can NOT get out of a garage without a ticket, so that has helped immensely with people trying to steal cars.

Let us know what you decide.

[J603]

I have to say Manchester. Let's face it, the time of year you are flying is snow season. Manchester has a HUGE advantage over Logan. Manchester, thanks to the state of the art snow melting system they have as part of the snow removal, they are able to stay open longer than Logan. At Logan it seems like if the winds blow just right, you experience delays. The other big difference is the easy of getting there and navigating the airport property. Maybe I am partial to Manchester, but having flown from both, I have got to experience both worlds. Good luck deciding.