Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport Welcomes American Airlines

[Jim Tucker]

Press conference tomorrow - anyone know the deal?

NORTHWEST FLORIDA BEACHES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT welcomes new ariline


WHAT: Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport is to announce a new airline coming to ECP during a press conference taking place on Thursday, January 18 at 9:30 a.m. (CST) at the Airport. The airline will provide passengers with new daily air service, more nonstop destinations and easy access to global connections.



WHERE: Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport

6300 West Bay Parkway

Panama City Beach, FL

(First floor, in front of the future airline ticket counter)



WHEN: Thursday, January 18, 2018



A press event will take place at 9:30 a.m. CST.



Interviews will be available with airport leadership immediately following the announcement.



###



About Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport

Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) offers some of the region’s lowest average airfares and is located less than 30 minutes from Panama City Beach, Panama City and the beaches of South Walton. Today, with service from Delta, Southwest, and United, ECP provides daily flights to worldwide destinations, including nonstop flights to Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, St. Louis, Austin, and Chicago. The first international airport to be built in more than a decade, ECP provides Northwest Florida communities with first-class facilities and was strategically developed for major economic development opportunities. ECP is the gateway to visitors seeking Northwest Florida’s famous beaches.

 

[Teresa]

Get ready, get set, get excited! It's official that the world's largest airline, American Airlines, will be offering non-stop flights right from ECP starting June 7th! Tag your travel partner and start booking as early as Monday, 1/22!

Now Boarding

World’s largest airline to offer passengers nonstop service to Charlotte Douglas and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, as well as opening up east and west coast destinations for local passengers

PANAMA CITY, FL (Jan. 18, 2018) – Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) and American Airlines are excited to announce beginning June 7, 2018, American Airlines will be providing new daily air service for passengers.

American Airlines will offer nonstop service to Charlotte Douglas (CLT) and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airports. The two airports serve as two of American Airlines’ largest hubs, opening up east and west coast destinations for local passengers.

American Airlines operates more than 760 flights daily from DFW providing access to more than 206 destinations over 30 countries, including recently announced service to Iceland and returning service to Venice and Amsterdam this summer. American is also offering passengers even more options through their strong East Coast connector from CLT with more than 675 daily flights to more than 156 destinations in 25 countries .

The world’s largest airline rounds out ECP’s list of elite airline partners as American Airlines joins the ranks of Delta, Southwest and United to bring passengers even more service to destinations across the United States, and seamless global connections.

“We are thrilled to welcome American Airlines to ECP and provide our passengers with more nonstop destinations and easy access to global connections through hubs like Dallas/Fort Worth and Charlotte Douglas,” said Parker W. McClellan, Jr., A.A.E., airport Executive Director. “As we move into our eighth year, we are proud of the growth of our Airport which wouldn’t be possible without the strong support of our local partners and board members.”

This new announcement, in addition to ongoing service from Delta, Southwest and United Airlines, continues to put Northwest Florida on the map and ensure additional opportunities to the Region.

The new year-round American Airlines flights will be operated by a CRJ-700, with nine seats in First and 56 in Main Cabin, for a total of 65 seats.

Passengers may begin booking American Airlines flights to and from ECP on Monday, January 22 by visiting the airline website at americanairlines.com.

Charlotte Douglas flight details:
Schedule effective on June 7, 2018 (operated by CRJ-700)

• Depart CLT 11:35 a.m. Arrive ECP 12:25 p.m.
• Depart CLT 7:25 p.m. Arrive ECP 8:15 p.m.
• Depart ECP 7:45 a.m. Arrive CLT 10:35 a.m.
• Depart ECP 3:00 p.m. Arrive CLT 5:50 p.m.

Dallas/Fort Worth flight details:
Schedule effective on June 7, 2018 (operated by CRJ-700)

• Depart DFW 12:21 p.m. Arrive ECP 2:28 p.m.
• Depart DFW 8:35 p.m. Arrive ECP 10:42 p.m.
• Depart ECP 6:00 a.m. Arrive DFW 8:07 a.m.
• Depart ECP 1:05 p.m. Arrive DFW 3:12 p.m.

About Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport
Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) offers some of the region’s lowest average airfares and is located less than 30 minutes from Panama City Beach, Panama City and the beaches of South Walton. Today, with service from Delta, Southwest, and United, ECP provides daily flights to worldwide destinations, including nonstop flights to Atlanta (ATL), Baltimore (BWI), Charlotte (CLT), Dallas (DAL/DFW), Denver (DEN), Houston(HOU/IAH), Nashville (BNA), St. Louis (STL), Austin (AUS), and Chicago (MDW). The first international airport to be built in more than a decade, ECP provides Northwest Florida communities with first-class facilities and was strategically developed for major economic development opportunities. ECP is the gateway to visitors seeking Northwest Florida’s famous beaches.

About American Airlines Group
American Airlines and American Eagle offer an average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in more than 50 countries. American has hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C. American is a founding member of the oneworld alliance, whose members and members-elect serve nearly 1,000 destinations with 14,250 daily flights to 150 countries. Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AAL. In 2015, its stock joined the S&P 500 index. Connect with American on Twitter @AmericanAir and atFacebook.com/AmericanAirlines.

 

[30A Skunkape]

 

[kayti elliott]

Is it American or American Eagle with the smaller regional jets?

 

[beachmouse]

Is it American or American Eagle with the smaller regional jets?

The announcement says the smaller CRJ 700 planes, so you are indeed soaring with the Eagle. I've got no issues with the 700s, which are decent-sized regional jets that are comfortable enough for short haul operations. I just don't really like the E gate area in Charlotte.

 

[Will B]

It's always good to have more carriers from a choice perspective, but the downside is that you, now, have three operators with no overlap so I doesn't really do anything from a cost perspective. There's no direct city to city competition...

 

[BeachArkie]

The announcement says the smaller CRJ 700 planes, so you are indeed soaring with the Eagle. I've got no issues with the 700s, which are decent-sized regional jets that are comfortable enough for short haul operations. I just don't really like the E gate area in Charlotte.

My only problem with them is that most of the time I flew east into VPS they left my luggage behind due to plane weight issues.

 

[Will B]

That is definitely a constraint with the regional jets during hot humid months. They have to weight maximize them because jet engines don't produce the same power on the ground in the heat than they do at altitude...

 

[SoWal Staff]

Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) welcomed inaugural flights for American Airlines today. The event was marked with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the American Airlines check-in desk, followed by a water cannon salute of the first American Airlines plane to arrive. Passengers were greeted by musical accompaniment from a Ukulele Orchestra and commemorative bags containing information about local vendors, and souvenirs.



Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, which is less than 20 miles from South Walton, will now have twice daily flights to and from Charlotte Douglas (CLT) in North Carolina and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) in Texas, two of American Airlines largest hubs. Airport officials expect flights from Charlotte to Northwest Florida Beaches International to take less than an hour, while flights from Dallas will arrive in about 2 hours.



The world’s largest airline rounds out ECP’s list of elite airline partners as American Airlines joins the ranks of Delta, Southwest and United to bring passengers even more service to destinations across the United States, and seamless global connections.

 

[Will B]

More service is good, but until there is direct city to city competition the prices are going to stay pretty steep...