Updates about Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (NWFBIA)

[DuneLaker]

Connecting Flights and Ground Transportation

Does anyone know if the Northwest Florida "International" airport will make it easier for our international friends to get here? Right now, friends in Germany who fly Lufthansa rent a car in Orlando or sometimes from Atlanta. Will Southwest airlines or any airline flying into new airport strike a deal with airlines like Lufthansa so travelers can book directly into our SoWal area? As it is now, these friends are not able to book to this area directly. With the Patriot Act, they must fly back and forth to Germany every three months. Better connections would sure make it easier for them and encourage their friends to visit. They are very excited about the new airport being only 20 or so minutes from their beach house in SoWal.

While I'm at it, I hope the taxi service being developed to serve this international and well traveled national group is up to the task. The last time our friends flew into the area and took a taxi from the airport to SoWal, the trip was horrific and they feared for their safety. The driver was over an hour late (probably had to sober up.) Vehicle was dirty and not in good working order. The finishing touches of good ground transportation must not be neglected.

 

[Will B]

Delta will fly them all the way through out of the new airport. Lufthansa is a member of the Star Alliance. They should be able to book straight through to Sowal on USAir, Continental, and United. I can't remember which of those three, if any, will be at the new airport. Currently, USAir and Continental both fly into Ft Walton which may or may not help.
.
.
If you are flying Southwest, Airtran, or a few other point to point carriers chance are slim. They keep their costs down by not having connecting bag agreements and connections from other airlines. Maybe that's all changing in today's environment, but that's how they used to work.

 

[Kurt]

http://newpcairport.com/2010/03/southwest-competition-already-reducing-airfares/

Southwest Competition Already Reducing Airfares

In a letter to The News Herald that was published Feb. 25 (“New airport has yet to land lower airfares”, Mr. Bruce Kennedy complained that the new airport has not resulted in lower airfares.



To make his case he compared the purchase of two Southwest Airlines’ tickets to San Antonio departing on June 1 and returning on June 6. The total price for the two round-trip tickets was $587.60, or $293.80 per person.



He compared this with Delta Air Lines fares for the same dates and found their fares to be $3 lower. His conclusion is that nothing has changed and Panama City fares remain high even with the new Southwest service.
That is incorrect.


The U.S. Department of Transportation collects data on actual air fares sold, with the latest information available being the 12-month period ending in September 2009.
Based on that information, the average round-trip airfare sold from Panama City to San Antonio during that 12-month period was $694 per person.



That cost does not include taxes and other fees that were included in Mr. Kennedy’s fare quote. Therefore the comparison is $1,388 (plus taxes and fees) for two tickets in 2009 versus $587 (including taxes and fees) with the new Southwest fares.



The fact that Delta is matching the Southwest fares is evidence that the competition provided by Southwest is generating significantly lower air fares.


Mr. Kennedy was also critical of Southwest’s level of customer service referring to seat assignments and beverage services. In response I would note that Southwest has routinely been ranked by various consumer and industry organizations as No. 1 in the airline industry in customer service.


The new airport is about many things that will provide economic benefits to our community. This includes improved airline service at lower cost to the traveling public.

RANDY CURTIS
Executive Director
Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport

 

[Paula]

Delta to Fort Walton Beach has had some great airfare sales this year. There was one in the fall, and there's one going on now with rates from Detroit to Fort Walton Beach below $300 through June.

I still think an untapped market for SoWallers is the midwest. This cold, snowy winter up north has inspired people who live up north to think about going south. Both my winter renters from this year already booked for next winter (even though it was so cold in SoWal this year).

 

[Kurt]

Noted Chef to Cater Airport Grand Opening — The New ECP

The anticipated large crowd at the four-day gala planned for the opening of the new airport near West Bay on May 23 will be fed by noted Pensacola chef Jim Shirley, officials said Wednesday.
Shirley is perhaps best known for preparing the meals for Spanish King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia when they visited Pensacola to help celebrate the 450th anniversary of the Spanish settlement.
​

For those interested in attending the the Grand Opening “Green Tie” Dinner, The News Herald reports:

Tickets for the Friday dinner will go for $1,250 per 10-person table, with individual tickets selling for $125. The first day of operations for the new $318 million airport is set for Sunday, May 23, including the first official flight of low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines.
​

Contact Grand Opening Committee Chairman Dan Rowe to purchase tickets. Rowe told The News Herald:

Tammala Spencer of Panama City has been hired as the official event planner for an amount “not to exceed” $31,000, Rowe said. Bids for producing the event totaled $281,000. The cost for entertainment was not included, Rowe said.
​

All money is being raised through donations from private companies, organizations and individuals; “in-kind” services.
Airport Authority board members refused to use budgeted airport funds for the gala.

 

[Kurt]

St. Joe reveals timetable on West Bay, gears up marketing | timetable, bay, west - News - The News Herald

St. Joe Company is gearing up to promote West Bay as a premier location for industries and plans to have infrastructure in place before 2012. “What we are creating in West Bay is a new central business district for Bay County,” said Kevin Johnson, St. Joe vice president of economic development. “This is the largest mixed-use facility in the United States of America.”
Johnson spoke to a packed room of more than 200 government and city leaders during the Bay County Chamber of Commerce’s monthly First Friday event.
“The most exciting news is they have a timetable and they are investing in infrastructure,” said Janet Watermeier, Bay County Economic Development Alliance executive director.
St. Joe has a timeline to complete infrastructure for the first 100 acres at the new industrial park adjacent to the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport by about mid-2011, Johnson said. Another 300 acres are planned to be ready by the end of that same year, he said. Eventually, 1,000 acres will be developed for industrial, flex-commercial office and retail use....

 

[RKauffman]

Does anyone who has been keeping track of this project know how likely it is to slip from the scheduled May 23 opening? There were some rumors a few weeks ago about a potential delay caused by some nonpayments to contractors/subs.

I'm planning on taking advantage of one of the new nonstop Southwest flights (Baltimore)for Memorial Day, but if the opening date might slip then I might need to figure out alternate arrangements...

 

[Kurt]

Does anyone who has been keeping track of this project know how likely it is to slip from the scheduled May 23 opening? There were some rumors a few weeks ago about a potential delay caused by some nonpayments to contractors/subs.

I'm planning on taking advantage of one of the new nonstop Southwest flights (Baltimore)for Memorial Day, but if the opening date might slip then I might need to figure out alternate arrangements...

Contractors threatened to stop work but were paid last week the money they said they were owed so official word is on schedule. My guess is it will be open on the promised day but we'll have to wait and see what kind of flight schedules they will be able to keep for the first few weeks.

 

[Kurt]

Tannehill Pushes for Cross-Wind Runway — The New ECP

Airport Authority board Chairman Joe Tannehill is usually unflappable, presiding calmly at board meetings that can sometimes grow contentious over issues such as budgets, industrial development or sod.

On Tuesday, he took the unusual step of moving out from behind the board member’s dais to renew his strong support for building a crosswind runway at the new airport under construction near West Bay.

“We need to do everything we have committed and promised,” he said from the audience podium, noting that the board will go through changes in the coming months. Both his term and the term of Vice Chairman Bill Cramer expire in June…

…Admitting he was taking the board by surprise, Tannehill said he would ask other members in two weeks to advertise for bids on the secondary runway, expected to cost about $18 million.
“If we can construct the crosswind runway without going out for more debt, we should do it,” Tannehill read from a prepared statement. “We have committed the crosswind runway to our GA (general aviation) friends, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and the FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation).”

Tannehill made a case that the airport had a total of $321 million to spend for the construction of the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, including two loans totaling $40 million from Florida’s State Infrastructure Bank (SIB) loans program, $15 million of which was untapped so far…

 

[RB]

Fair enough. I will enjoy them while I can.

I can see delta flying in the MD88's but reducing the # of flights per day from Atlanta. I think they have 8 flights per day now. I see no reason why they couldn't reduce this to 5 or 6 with bigger planes until demand grows.