Updates about Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (NWFBIA)

Now that I've finished crying because Southwest did not decide to offer direct flights from Detroit, I've looked to other solutions. Southwest has connecting flights from Detroit through Nashville or Baltimore to the new airport, and both are cheaper than other flights into Panama City or Fort Walton Beach. They take about the same amount of time as well. And I assume Southwest will have sales as well. So, even if we haven't gotten rid of the layover from the midwest to SoWal, at least flights look like they'll be cheaper. And that makes me very happy. A direct flight would make be ecstatic.

St. Joe said in its annual report filed today that it does not expect ?significant favorable changes? in the housing market in 2010.

Company officials are much more optimistic about the opening of the Panama City airport. St. Joe last fall negotiated an agreement with Southwest Airlines Co. that will bring eight daily non-stop flights into the airport.

?We believe this is a game changer for our company and our shareholders,? St. Joe CEO Britt Greene said in a conference call with analysts.

Tannehill: Delta To Fly Bigger Jets to New Airport ? The New ECP

Delta Air Lines is expected to bring bigger planes and lower prices, [Airport Authority Chairman Joe] Tannehill said. Government officials expect the airport to draw new companies, increase tourism and help the Bay County economy recover from the worst recession since 1975 faster than other areas of the state.
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Delta is expected to begin flights of MD-88 jets when the new airport opens at the end of May.

Tannehill: Delta To Fly Bigger Jets to New Airport ? The New ECP

Delta Air Lines is expected to bring bigger planes and lower prices, [Airport Authority Chairman Joe] Tannehill said. Government officials expect the airport to draw new companies, increase tourism and help the Bay County economy recover from the worst recession since 1975 faster than other areas of the state.
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Delta is expected to begin flights of MD-88 jets when the new airport opens at the end of May.

The prices look lower already from what I checked. It will be great if they switch to MD 88's.

But...and I stress a big "but"...

If they don't fill them, don't be surprised if the 88's aren't gone within a couple months. My gut feeling is that Delta expects a surge due to SW, but if they can't fill them, Delta will revert back to the smaller regional jets.

It's a calculated risk at best. Currently, the aircraft being used only operate at about 60-70% capacity...maybe 80 as a stretch. That sounds like a good number until you put those passengers in a MD88. Now, you're talking about 20%. That math doesn't add up to $$ made. If they can fill 'em, more power to them, but only time will tell.

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.

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.

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....

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...

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…

Fair enough. I will enjoy them while I can.

Overall construction of the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport is now 93 percent complete as workers rush to meet a May 23 grand opening date, officials said last week.
“Everything is on schedule and looking good,” said Jeff Dealy of KBR, program manager for the $318 million airport relocation project. “It’s all coming together in April”…
…The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has scheduled a final pre-inspection of the 10,000-foot runway for mid-April and a concluding inspection for mid-May, he said.
FAA officials already conducted a successful flight inspection of the runway earlier this month.
In addition, all of the outlying structures of the $63 million seven-building terminal complex — minus the terminal building, which is about 92 percent complete — is expected to be turned over to the Airport Authority by mid-April, Dealy said…
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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.

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.