Which 4 Destinations will Southwest Airlines Fly in From?

Airport 2 Minutes

Without doubt you recall back in October it was announced that Southwest Airlines would be bringing their canyon blue jets over our emerald waters and gently be landing them at our brand-spankin new airport in Panama City Beach. People cheered, some teared up and the excitement spread like butter. Dubbed after two tries the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, St. Joe and Southwest partnered along with Coastal Vision 3000 and area TDC’s to come up with a dynamic plan to grown our area’s industry, tourism and hopefully population. When the big announcement was made, 8 flights a day were committed to from 4 different locations, but the locations were to be named in December.

And, no we don’t have those destinations to announce yet, but that should come in short notice, I’m sure.  The purpose of this post is to see what destinations you think should be flying into our area. Of course, some of you who have family or frequent certain destination will be biased, but consider what places would bring the most people to Panama City Beach.

There will be 4 destinations total and tons of people have sounded off here on pcbdaily as to their preference, but let’s here from you all one more time.

I’ve created a poll in the sidebar to track, so please vote there.  In addition, share with us in the comments below your pick!  Please note, cheaters, that if you select one destination a million times, we’ll know the survey has been tampered with and you will be dealt with by tar and feather. All of the votes are logged by ip address.

Here are the cities we think are most likely to be future feeder markets for Panama City Beach:

Nashville, TN – tons of people from Nashville come down here already.

Birmingham, AL – tons of people from Birmingham come here already as well.

LaGuardia, NY (New York City) – There has been a huge interest in our area from people in New York in the last year.  This is highly evident in the pcbdialy analytics.

Chicago, IL (Midway) – We beleive this to be a huge sleeper market that’s actually already feeding fairly heavily into our area, beleive it or not.

Dallas, TX (LoveField) – Forget the Wright Amendment, who cares if they can’t really fly here until 2014, bring ’em anyway!

Here are some others that we added to the poll to see what YOU think.  If there are any destinations you think should be on this poll that aren’t, let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best to add them.

  • New Orleans, LA
  • Orlando, FL
  • Jackson, MS
  • Columbus, OH
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Detroit, MI
  • Raleigh/Duram, NC
  • St. Louis, MO
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Published by Jason Koertge

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173 thoughts on “Which 4 Destinations will Southwest Airlines Fly in From?”

  1. Nashville, Chicago, New York (LaGuardia), Dallas I think will be the 4 Destinations. Time well tell. I also think with the extension of the runway to 10,000 ft. there will be direct International flights from Europe and South America that will cater to the Panama City & Destin beaches for vacation and possible real estate investments. Despite what “Recesssion” the US is currently in; our area at the current time is ripe for foreign investors who will see our area as an opportunity to buy while the prices are low.

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  4. I think SW will choose a Midwest city that is on the way to PCB from Chicago, Detroit, Wisconsin, etc. Indianapolis would be a great choice. The word is already out in the Indy area on what a great vacation spot PCB is. Direct flights from Indy would drastically increase the amount of PCB vacationers from the Midwest.

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  7. For the last 25+ years, my family and friends have gathered at Pinnacle Port. We usually have about 40 people that make the trip each June. We are getting older and it would be great to be able to fly into Panama City Beach, without having to drive to Walton, like we did this year.

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  9. I would add Louisville, kentucky…everyone here(my self included)loves PCB! I have been there several times, & it always feels like home. Jim :o)

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  10. I would love service direct to BWI, Baltimore is my hometown and I go up there a couple times a year. And friends and family could visit me more often.

    BWI is a hub for Southwest, as other posters have mentioned. But SWA doesn’t really operate a hub-and-spoke route system.

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  11. Holy macaroni! I decided to hop by and see how things were going and I find 63 comments. I assure you we will go through these later and get any suggestions added to the poll! We’ll keep this baby life until they make an announcement!

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    1. Hey Jason, GREAT blog! But, you “assured” us you would get “any suggestions added to the poll!”. You announced your interim results today, and you didn’t add any suggestions. It is GREAT to see SO MANY people interested and supporting this thing.

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  13. Please add Louisville to your list. A lot of people go there for vactions every year. The population of the Louisville metro area is around one million people.
    Thanks

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  17. I don’t suppose Vancouver has much of a change, but hey, I’d settle for Seattle. (Both have zero chance of being one of these four, but I can dream)

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  18. Orlando. We definitely want to tap into the European tourist market and the way Europeans structure their American vacations is as two center holidays. Usually a week at the theme parks in Orlando, and a week on a Florida beach. We have to make it easier for them to get here from Orlando to enjoy the benefit of their stays. Europeans currency is stronger, so they have more money to spend, and they take longer vacations, so they’ll be here longer spending that cash!

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  19. In my opinion, people who live in states closer to Florida would most likely choose to drive to P.C.B. anyway. Who doesn’t love a day long road trip? So it seems we should want the destinations connecting to our new airport to be the largest cities furthest from us.

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  20. There are so many people from Louisville, Kentucky that are frequent visitors (several times a year), and property owners in Panama City Beach, I cannot believe you did not add us to your poll. I don’t want to have to drive (3) hours to Nashville, or (3) Hours North to Indianapolis to be able to fly. OMG! I have been dreaming and talking about this airport to everyone for years, and really hope Louisville, Kentucky makes the cut. If we are included it will allow us to come many more times a year because we can take long week-ends in addition to our normal three or four 12 hour drives we tolerate to visit.

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  21. LOUISVILLE, KY WOULD BE GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!! I WOULD LOVE FOR IT TO BE THE GREATER CINCINNATI AIRPORT, BUT BEING FROM THAT AREA I KNOW THAT SOUTHWEST DOESNT FLY OUT OF THERE, IT HAS TO BE LOUISVILLE………..

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    1. I agree with Pittsburgh,Pa being a good choice.
      Northern people use this airport to fly to Fla.
      My family is from Erie, Pa.
      Buffalo, Cleveland and Pittsburgh are the main hubs to travel anywhere.
      Only an hour to 2 hours to get to anyone of them.
      Yet I sure would love Erie !

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  23. Will be great if I can fly from Ft Lauderdale, Fl.
    My daughter and family live in Alabama and often visit Rosemary Beach. Will be great to meet them there, since it is a 9 hour drive for us.
    Rosa Grullon

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  26. Louisville, Kentucky needs to be on the list for sure! Tons of people from Louisville go to PCB especially during summer months.

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  27. Definitely Jacksonville, Florida. There are many people from the area who have to make that 5-hour drive to their vacation destination in PCB.

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  28. I think Louisville, KY should be a destination that Southwest flys in from and apparently so do several others on this web site.

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  33. What about Louisville, Kentucky? It’s the 16th largest city in America and Panama City Beach is a hot spot for Louisville residents to go to.

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  35. Just courious… Louisville is not on the list. There are 5 million people within 100 miles of the Louisville airport and Panama City Beach has been running TV adds in this market for months. It is a 10 hour drive to PCB from Louisville and we vacation on the Emerald Coast… so that is just about right for a South West 737 super.

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  36. I think the cities need to be beyond the present cities that are less than an 8 hour drive if you want to start attracting new tourists. It should also be large cities that can fill the flights.
    Washington DC
    Chicago
    New York
    Las Vegas
    I was thinking of a city in California, but they already have the whole Pacific coast.

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    1. Last thing I want do is sound like a commercial…
      …the Pacific Coast is great, but pricey even if you spend more on airline tickets to get here it is a trip definitely worth making for vacation, scout out property or both it balances out!

      Living in SoCal for many years we have:

      1. Played on the beach in “Surf City” Huntington Beach, Ca. (no sugar white sands), Surfed (good wave action but when it rains they close the beaches when it gets really dirty [bacteria among other things] in the runnoff that ends up in the ocean-many, not just surfers get sick); the more you go north along the Pacific Coast the colder the water gets-wetsuit territory; Don’t get me wrong it does have its fun in the sun…Californians still need to check this up & coming NW Florida areas…

      2. Bicycled (road & mt. bikes): We have the Iron Man here; don’t have to fight with traffic & there’s too much smog, pavement & cement before you reach any countryside or beach sand-although it has GEREAT mountain terrain in the Coronado & Angeles National Forrest (singletracks for Mt. Bikers)

      3. Better Spring break for the whole family density in PCB areas…instead of south of the border now-a-days with all that is going on down there.

      4. Better sense of “getting away” when on vacation here from the hustle & bustle

      5. We love the Natural Springs system for canoeing

      6. Great Southern Hospitality – many take the time to say “Hello” more; generaly very Neighborly & polite

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  37. New York (LGA) is a must! Your reader Mary already mentioned what a huge market this would serve: New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. Plenty of people with money from this area. They will vacation, spend, spend, spend and buy condo’s. We need the money to turn the beach and real estate market around. Southwest Airlines, if you are listening, I would love to be on the first flight from LGA to the new PC airport. I have been flying into the area since 1981 from Connecticut and I can’t wait for Southwest to go nonstop.
    Jason, thanks for your webpage and information. Happy Holidays to all.

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      1. I agree. The New York Metropolitan area would bring in a ton of $$$$. Have flights coming in from LGA. and Chicago O’Hare or Midway too!

        Great site Jason!

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  38. Please add Newark International Airport tons of people fly out of there to visit Florida all year! I almost didnt want to go down 2 years ago cause of the hassle of taking two flights. I feel that might change and more people from NorthEast NJ will come out to get to know Panama City!

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  40. My votes were for LaGaurdia – will pull in a ton of New Yorkers & surrounding areas that DESERVE to relish in what PCB has!

    Nashville of course (I live in Knoxville – 3 hrs away from Nashville) this is SO centrally located to many states & cities that visit PCB but hate the drive on 231 (10hrs or more) and would help ‘Southeners’ take mini-vacations more.

    Dallas would be great! Houston would be good BUT…have lived there and and know that it is around 3 hrs to Dallas which, by choosing Dallas, still would pull in the Houstonians. Dallas has so many surrounding areas that would LOVE PCB! Believe me Galveston is a nice place but doesn’t even compare to a vacation in PCB with the WHITE sand & blue water!

    Last choice would be Chicago – a great main hub for many people!

    Lets hope that Southwest (in the future) will add more areas in the near future! PCB is on the runway to growing in a huge way!

    I am unfamiliar with the

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  41. I think they should definitely consider Memphis or Atlanta – I know first thoughts are they are too close but they would be major stepping stones from many other locations all over the US. Many other carriers already fly to these airports for great prices, multiple times a day. I just think If passengers up in the northern areas are going to cough up the money to fly direct to PCB (Sorry – North West Florida!) i would think they would rather go down to Miami, Nassau, Tampa or more tropical resorts for the same value or possibly less. Houston or Dallas will be a definite option for the directors of Southwest airlines, two of the busiest international airports in the US and easy stepping stones from other southwest airports. It Would be great for European passengers to be able to get to PCB with just two flights and get PCB on the map for Millions of Europeans that love to travel, Atlanta would be the best option for this to workout, I know London to Atlanta is very popular.

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  42. Baltimore is a major SWA hub…it should be selected for sure to feed from many other cities…classic hub and spoke air system. What are their other hub cities? To make this work for SWA and us, those should be the cities.

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  44. Please add Pittsburgh International airport to the list. Too many southern states on the list that are drive-“from” states and always have been – they will continue to come. We need more from the midwest and the Northeast. Also it should be JFK and not LaGuardia – JFK is a much better airport with less problems.

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  48. Jason, you left Jacksonville and Tampa off your poll. The two biggest St. Joe offices in Florida are in these two towns. It should have been a no-brainer! Also, SWA has 6 non-stops per day going from New Orleans to Jacksonville and PASS RIGHT OVER US. Similar number from Birmingham & Nashville to Tampa and they also PASS RIGHT OVER US.

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  49. We live in UK and own a house in PCB.
    We dont care where the SW flights are from (as long as we avoid Atlanta);
    For us a direct flight to New York or Philladephia would really suit us and we could get to PCB with one stop, Better still a direct flight from Birmingham (Englad) to PCB—that would be a dream come true.
    The European market needs to be addressed,(particularly the UK)–the Brits will love PCB and will spend lots of money there and buy up houses belive me (once the economy has picked up a little)

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    1. I agree, but think Orlando would be a better overseas fit. There are already heaps of non-stop flights coming into Orlando from all major international cities.

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  50. Even though close to New Your, Bradley Field (Hartford, CT) may be a good option. A larger airport than most think. Also Vegas.

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