Boston Hanscom. The business field for Boston, Cambridge and the 128 corridor.
Fifteen miles north west of Logan, between Concord and Lexington, with customs on the field. For anyone whose business is at a university, a laboratory or a fund on Route 128, this is the arrival that makes sense.
The airport
Hanscom Field at a glance
- CodesBED / KBEDLaurence G. Hanscom Field at Bedford, Massachusetts, about fifteen miles north west of Boston Logan, between the towns of Concord and Lexington.
- Run byMassportThe same authority that runs Logan. Hanscom is its general aviation field and the busiest business aviation airport in New England.
- RunwaysAbout 7,011 ft and 5,106 ftThe main runway 11/29 handles the great majority of business jets, including transatlantic aircraft. The crosswind runway 05/23 is shorter.
- CustomsOn the field, by prior arrangementUnited States Customs and Border Protection clear international arrivals at Hanscom. Your handler files the paperwork in advance; it is not a walk up service.
There is no hard curfew, but Hanscom runs a voluntary noise programme and a surcharge applies to movements between 23:00 and 07:00. It is a neighbourly field in a residential area, and operators plan around that.
Journey times
From Hanscom by road
| To | Quiet roads | Rush hour |
|---|---|---|
| Cambridge, Harvard and MIT | 25 to 35 minutes | 40 to 60 minutes |
| Back Bay and the Financial District | 30 to 45 minutes | 50 to 80 minutes |
| Seaport and the convention district | 35 to 50 minutes | 55 to 85 minutes |
| Concord and Lexington | 10 to 20 minutes | 15 to 25 minutes |
| Waltham and the Route 128 corridor | 15 to 25 minutes | 25 to 40 minutes |
| Boston Logan | 35 to 50 minutes | 60 to 90 minutes |
| Providence, Rhode Island | 1 hour 10 to 1 hour 30 | Longer on a Friday |
| Newport, Rhode Island | 1 hour 30 to 2 hours | Considerably longer on a summer weekend |
| Hyannis, for the Cape and the islands | 1 hour 45 to 2 hours 30 | Cape traffic on summer Fridays is its own weather system |
Realistic ranges. Boston's peaks are long and the tunnels and the Pike carry everything. Winter weather is a genuine variable between December and March.
Why clients use it
Closer to the work than Logan is
Boston's commercial gravity does not sit only in the city centre. It is Kendall Square and the Longwood laboratories, the funds and family offices out along Route 128, and the universities in Cambridge. Hanscom sits on the right side of the city for most of that, and a car from Bedford reaches Kendall or Waltham long before the same car would have fought its way out of Logan and through a tunnel. For a roadshow with four meetings in a day, that difference compounds. See executive roadshows and corporate chauffeur service.
The field also suits the transatlantic arrival. Customs are cleared on site by prior arrangement, the walk from aircraft to car is short, and a party that landed at eight in the morning can be in a meeting in Cambridge before ten. Aircraft in the ultra long range and heavy classes routinely use the main runway; your operator will confirm the numbers for the day and the load. See ultra long range jets, heavy jets and London to New York for the equivalent eastern seaboard run.
Our own cars and our own chauffeurs are in London and Manchester. In Massachusetts, cars are arranged through operators we know, and the same person in our office holds the whole itinerary: the aircraft movement, the handler, the cars and the meetings. One contact, wherever you are.
The calendar
The weeks when Boston fills up
Boston is a university city and its busiest weeks follow the academic year rather than the tourist season. Late August and the first days of September, when tens of thousands of students arrive at once, are the hardest days of the year to move around Cambridge and Allston. Commencement week in May is the same problem in formal dress. The autumn brings the foliage traffic north and west of the city and the October regatta on the Charles, and both fill the hotels.
Winter is the other consideration. Between December and March, New England weather can close a runway, delay an arrival by hours or turn a forty minute drive into ninety. We watch the forecast against the itinerary rather than the other way round, and where a day is tight we will say so before you commit to it rather than after.
For anything that matters, tell us early. We will not quote a peak week policy we have not agreed, but we will always tell you honestly what we think the day will look like. See our operations centre.
Onward
Around a Boston trip
Request a quote
Tell us the movement
Date, tail number or operator, passengers, luggage and where you are going. If it is a day of meetings, send us the schedule and we will build the cars around it rather than around the airport. We reply with a clear price. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Hanscom transfers
Is Hanscom better than Logan for a private arrival?
For almost everything west and north of the city, yes. It is closer to Cambridge, Waltham and the Route 128 corridor, the walk from aircraft to car is short and the field is built for business aviation. Logan is better only if your address is genuinely in the centre or east of it.
Can we clear customs at Hanscom?
Yes. United States Customs and Border Protection clear international arrivals on the field by prior arrangement, which your handler files in advance. Allow for it in the schedule rather than assuming it.
Is there a night curfew?
Not a hard one. A voluntary noise programme applies and movements between 23:00 and 07:00 attract a surcharge. Your operator will plan accordingly.
Can a transatlantic aircraft land there?
The main runway is about 7,011 feet and heavy and ultra long range aircraft use the field regularly. The numbers for your aircraft, load and the weather on the day are your operator's call. See private jet charter.
Are these your own cars?
No. Our own fleet and our own chauffeurs are in London and Manchester. In Massachusetts cars are arranged through operators we know, and we hold the whole itinerary in one place.
Can the car come to the aircraft?
Where the terminal permits it for your movement. Otherwise the car waits at the handler's door. We confirm which before you land.
