Readers write; Mark Patinkin admits Logan has perks – but says flying from BOS is still BS

My mother once told me “hate” is not a nice word, adding, “You don’t hate anything.”

I’ve tried to honor that, but in a recent column I couldn’t help saying I have a “hate-hate” relationship with Logan Airport.

I was inspired by a terrific Green Airport ad that told folks to avoid the “B.S. at BOS.” I agreed, calling Logan the 10^th circle of hell.

The column drew a ton of comments, most pro, but some con, so I’m writing this follow-up because, like many relationships, the three-way one between Rhode Island, Green and Logan is complicated.

A key point of the “B.S. at BOS” ad was that Green avoids Boston’s “soul-crushing” traffic. Which is true – you have to plan on two hours just in case, then pay some of the world’s highest airport parking fees.

But many readers said I have options around that. My favorite was from Marianne Chronley, who wove in an amusing zinger about car culture.

“There are other ways of getting to Logan,” she said, “besides driving your own gas-guzzling, carbon-emitting, traffic-contributing vehicle and paying $40/day to park it.”

Specifically, she said, you could take the train, the Peter Pan bus or a Logan Express shuttle from Braintree.

She’s right of course.

But all have challenges.

Peter Pan used to be a great option, but now has just two buses a day from Providence to Logan – 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. What the heck is that, Mr. Pan? Get your act together and add more.

The train's a good bet too, but a bit of a hassle getting to it here, then switching to the Silver Line from South Station.

I hadn’t known much about the Logan shuttle from Braintree, which many told me has cheap parking and direct buses to Logan terminals. Braintree is still a drive from here, but not through Boston, so worth a look.

Yet most readers were in the “Logan’s a huge pain” camp.

“How bad is Logan?” wrote Malcolm Griggs. “It’s so bad that when I lived in NY La Guardia looked simple and convenient by comparison.”

On X, once known as Twitter, MixietheMaven agreed that Logan’s layout is a confusing nightmare.

“Did you know there are TWO central parkings?” she said. “And you can end up in the wrong one, looking for your car for hours? With two toddlers?”

Amen to that. I recall a subzero midnight searching the wrong Logan lot as my 20-something kids asked why they had to be stuck in life with such an incompetent father.

By contrast, Charisse Mayer pointed out that with a friend driving you to Green, you can leave Providence, get through security and be at your gate in a half-hour. Try that with Logan.

But I heard from plenty who basically said, “Not so fast.” They pointed out three reasons Logan is preferable despite the hassles.

First – as we all know – Logan has a ton more nonstop flights. That often leaves us Green aficionados with a stressful dilemma: Which is worse – the schlep to Logan or switching planes after a Green departure, knowing it doubles the chance of delays?

Carol Aquilante wrote that she’s heading to Vegas in November and would love to fly from Green but there are no nonstops now. To catch an early flight, she’ll stay at a hotel near Logan the night before – which I’ve done myself. That’s a bummer, but take notice, Green – many travelers feel it’s worth all that to fly nonstop.

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The second reason for Logan?

A reader named Anthony Branca explained it. Too often, he said, “Convenient flights (from Green) are only in the early morning or late at night.”

He’s right. Take Chicago, for example. From Logan, you have almost 20 nonstops all day. From Green, only six, and almost all are before 7:15 a.m. or after 4:30 p.m - though Southwest does have midday flights there a few days a week.

A few readers were outright Logan fans, including Thomas Tzitzouris.

“As someone who flies 100 times a year,” he wrote, “I’d say it’s not even close; Logan is a far better option. Even with the traffic.”

For starters, he said, Green only has a couple of restaurants, and no longer a Starbucks. But more important, he added, is Green’s limited list of nonstop options. “You can’t get to Dallas, Houston, L.A., San Fran, Seattle, Toronto, Montreal or London,” he said. At least not nonstop. Same goes for a ton of other nonstop Logan destinations.

Then he brought up the third reason BOS trumps PVD.

“Logan,” he said, “is cheaper to fly out of, even with the cost of a train into South Station.”

I decided to check that out on the Chicago route, and he’s right.

Picking as an example a weekend roundtrip from Green to there on Friday, Oct. 27, to Sunday, Oct. 29, the cheapest flight is $266, and most are over $350. Southwest, which once was our secret low-cost weapon against Logan, charges almost double that. I guess the days of Southwest as a discount airline are long gone.

Meanwhile, roundtrips from Boston on the same days start at $177 with most of the choices under $250.

Of course, travel, parking and the stress of Logan often makes it a wash.

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Still, many readers said there is often no choice but to suffer Logan.

Sue McInerney nailed it.

“It is a nightmare,” she said of Logan. But when it comes to Green: “For the places I am flying to, there are layovers and the prices are $200-300 higher. I don’t like flying out of Boston, but I have to.”

In sum, with a few exceptions, people here do love Green and hate Logan.

So I still say the “B.S. @ BOS” ad is on target.

But please, Green – more nonstops and better prices so we can avoid the 10^th circle of hell.

mpatinki@providencejournal.com

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Mark Patinkin: Despite readers' replies, flying out of BOS is BS