Faa Decision To Relocate Airport

[Bobby J]

To put the cost of the airport in perspective, the United States is currently spending 10 billion dollars a month in Iraq, money which is borrowed, and will be paid for by future generations. The benefit of this obscene monthly figure is zilch. The 300 million spent on the airport will spark the economic engine of the entire panhandle. Future generations will benefit economically from easy access to the region. A new NBA arena costs much more than the airport in question.

Very well put Bob. :clap_1:

 

[Pirate]

To put the cost of the airport in perspective, the United States is currently spending 10 billion dollars a month in Iraq, money which is borrowed, and will be paid for by future generations. The benefit of this obscene monthly figure is zilch. The 300 million spent on the airport will spark the economic engine of the entire panhandle. Future generations will benefit economically from easy access to the region. A new NBA arena costs much more than the airport in question.

Since we are spending money in Iraq we should waste it in other places as well? Surely you notice real estate in other Florida resort areas with an international airport is flat as well.

 

[beachmouse]

And the old Orlando airport really is a bad comparison to make because the big rat's a huge, huge draw, and they've got other huge theme parks that have been built there since the new terminals replaced the old one. (which had all the ambiance and space of a Greyhound bus terminal) Orlando also draws from a local population base that's something like 5-15x what Bay County would.

The will help, but it's not the short term magic bullet so many people think it's going to be. If you want a comparison point, you can land any size plane you want to at VPS (including a 747 with a space shuttle attached to it) and the Department of Defense is generous enough with runway rights for civilian air that commercial carriers are only using abut 75% of what they're allowed to.

End result- abut 200,000 more annual passengers and a few more carrier options like Continental, but if people think that BA, Luftansa, and the like are going to be beating the path to Bay County's door, they're delusional.

 

[Kurt]

Mouse I see your point but I imagine there are some small, medium, and very large players that were waiting on the final airport approval who will now get involved. Will that cause a home to sell that has been on the market for 3 months? Probably not, but the long-term future of the region has just changed forever.

I felt a real 6.0 earthquake last week. The airport approval was a 12.0.

 

[Bobby J]

Like I said it will take us awhile to grasp the reality. Houses are not just going to start flying out the door but the long term projections will be "very" positive for Bay and SoWAl.

 

[Babyblue]

And the old Orlando airport really is a bad comparison to make because the big rat's a huge, huge draw, and they've got other huge theme parks that have been built there since the new terminals replaced the old one. (which had all the ambiance and space of a Greyhound bus terminal) Orlando also draws from a local population base that's something like 5-15x what Bay County would.

The will help, but it's not the short term magic bullet so many people think it's going to be. If you want a comparison point, you can land any size plane you want to at VPS (including a 747 with a space shuttle attached to it) and the Department of Defense is generous enough with runway rights for civilian air that commercial carriers are only using abut 75% of what they're allowed to.

End result- abut 200,000 more annual passengers and a few more carrier options like Continental, but if people think that BA, Luftansa, and the like are going to be beating the path to Bay County's door, they're delusional.

How do you know that it will not happen. My money say's it will.

 

[Babyblue]

Now I know why there are 30,000 condos under construction, a theme park coming, new highways being built, cruise ships arriving . . . .

Correct!!!!

 

[Bob]

And the old Orlando airport really is a bad comparison to make because the big rat's a huge, huge draw, and they've got other huge theme parks that have been built there since the new terminals replaced the old one. (which had all the ambiance and space of a Greyhound bus terminal) Orlando also draws from a local population base that's something like 5-15x what Bay County would.

The will help, but it's not the short term magic bullet so many people think it's going to be. If you want a comparison point, you can land any size plane you want to at VPS (including a 747 with a space shuttle attached to it) and the Department of Defense is generous enough with runway rights for civilian air that commercial carriers are only using abut 75% of what they're allowed to.

End result- abut 200,000 more annual passengers and a few more carrier options like Continental, but if people think that BA, Luftansa, and the like are going to be beating the path to Bay County's door, they're delusional.

Beachmouse, I guess the mid-bay bridge is a total boondoggle as well. You cannot compare VPS to OIA because McCoy Air Force base closed in 1974. You can't have a huge international airport in the middle of a military facility. Poor airport facilities severely limit the scope and flow of visitors. Orlando prior to the larger facility had a severe limit as to volume of visitors. The old terminal was tiny!!! Most drove to visit Disney. Prior to 1981 you would not see pink, sunburned Europeans wandering the area. Now thousands of foreigners own rental homes. Real estate is affordable because of exchange rates. I golf with a Scottish-British group, and universally, many have no working knowledge of the panhandle's unsurpassed beaches. On second thought, maybe that's a good thing, but an international airport next to SoWal will surely boost real estate.

 

[Jellyfish]

I agree. To attract tourists and business, you need good access, which means a good airport these days. Worked for Atlanta :funn:

 

[pmd8]

I would be ecstatic if the lack of an airport would halt development.

One problem with the new airport is that it is going to destroy a large area of wetlands. The current airport is underutilized and the land it's on is already degraded.

Let's see, the citizens of Bay County voted against moving the airport but that apparently doesn't matter where St. Joe's wishes are concerned. They didn't donate 4500 acres for the airport for altruistic reasons. Who else could get a state highway moved inland for their waterfront development in Franklin County? And the state will pay for half of it to boot. Just as we taxpayers are paying $300 million for the new airport that will primarily benefit St. Joe.