Tag: panama city beach airport

Southwest Airlines adds Non-Stop Flights from St. Louis

For a little seasonal boost, Southwest Airlines is opening up direct access to beaches of Northwest Florida to our mid-west residents of St. Louis this summer.  In a blog post released April 2nd (sorry this wasn’t quick enough for you Andy), SWA made this announcement along with a slew of other changes/additions to their 2012 schedules.

They kidded, “So…if we announced all of this yesterday, you’d think it was an April Fool’s joke.  BUT IT’S NOT!”

Details about the flights.

The non-stop flights between St. Louis (STL) and Panama City Beach’s Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) will begin on Monday June 3 and seem to run through the end of October.  The prices look to range from $130-$200 one-way.  In the last couple years, the Midwest has become a quickly growing segment that’s interested in vacationing in our area.  Out of the top 15 states we’ve serviced guests from in the last year, our vacation rental company has accommodated guests from 5 of the official 12 Midwestern states.

In addition to the strong rental stats, looking at our traffic on PCBDaily, Missouri ranks in the top 12 for states whose residents have read our blog in the last month.

Keep a sharp eye out for other sweet additions and changes to the Southwest Airlines offerings in our area.

 

Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport Launches New Website

Jason Koertge has an awesome vacation rental business in Panama City Beach that focuses on remarkable properties right on the gulf.  They range from 1 to 4 bedrooms, they’re clean, and amazing.  He can be found lurking at PCBLP.com.

I thought the old website looked pretty good, but apparently it lacked some desired functionality.  The new website just launched Tuesday of this week and features “an updated design, social media integration and streamlined information for travelers, including a new real-time flight tracking feature.”

As you know, the new airport is located just north on Highway 79 and to the east about 5 miles on Highway 388.  It was relocated there a couple years back in what was a bold and revolutionary move as it was the first new airport to be built since 9/11/01.

We’re planning on visiting the new airport again (we’ve obviously been a ton of times) to shoot a video tour for our readers.

What are some of the things you’d like to see us show?

Press release for the website launch

PANAMA CITY, FL (February 14, 2012) – Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport has unveiled a new website that will make traveling even more convenient for flyers. The new website features an updated design, social media integration and streamlined information for travelers, including a new real-time flight tracking feature.

The Airport understands that a seamless online experience is more important than ever in an increasingly interactive world where most consumers are making their travel plans online.

“We wanted to provide our customers with a website that quickly answers their questions and allows them to effortlessly make travel decisions” said John Wheat, the Airport’s Executive Director.

Website visitors can obtain real time updates on arrivals and departures, follow flights on an interactive route map and track individual flights throughout the country.

Residents looking for a getaway will be able to choose from the Airport’s daily direct flights with service to Atlanta, GA (ATL), Baltimore, MD (BWI), Houston, TX (HOU), Nashville, TN (BNA), and Orlando, FL (MCO), as well as connecting service to worldwide destinations.

Website visitors looking to learn more about what Northwest Florida has to offer will be seamlessly connected to the Airport’s exceptional tourism partners who stand ready to help them plan the perfect getaway to Panama City, Panama City Beach, Florida’s Forgotten Coast or the 15 Beach Neighborhoods of South Walton.

“Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport offers the lowest average airfares in the region, allowing travelers to save an average of $150 on each trip they take,” said Andy McKenzie, Chairman of the Airport’s Board of Directors. “The new website is an important tool in helping us spread the word that our Airport is the most convenient and cost effective option.”

The Airport will also soon be launching a mobile site that is fully compatible with handheld devices. This site will provide a more user friendly experience when viewing from a mobile device, whether at the Airport or on the go.

For more information, visit www.IFlyBeaches.com.

New Airport Pictures – NEVER BEFORE SEEN

You know how when you see project or construction renderings, the imagery always seems so polished, glossy and beautiful looking?  You always hope the final product will look just half as good as the original artist’s touch, but the real thing just never seems to be quite as beautiful.  Well, in the case of the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport – the exact opposite is true.  The final product, to me, looks even more beautiful than the original artist’s concepts.

Continue reading “New Airport Pictures – NEVER BEFORE SEEN” →

Bay County Heart Ball – THIS FRIDAY

Break out your formal wear and red-carpet shoes because this Friday is the American Heart Association’s annual heart ball.  This year they decided to shake things up A LOT and move the ball to a private hangar in the General Aviation facility in the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.

Check after the break for the deets.

Continue reading “Bay County Heart Ball – THIS FRIDAY” →

New Airport Set to Triple Numbers 2011

This is the first article in a series that explores 2011 Tourism Predictions for Panama City Beach.

Spring is right around the corner, and along with the knowledge of the coming season, we’re finding that our town is divided into three parts. The Optimists, The Pessimists and The Realists.

At times, it looks as though the Realists Team and the Optimists Team are on the same page, leaving the Pessimists to bemoan, well – everything.

For the most part, the Panama City Beach community is fanning those beginning sparks of excitement, while remaining optimistically cautious, over the vast potential of the 2011 tourism season.

Instead of sitting around speculating any longer, we decided to check in with some of PCB’s seasoned pro’s, those business savvy locals, who’ve been through this whole tourism thing a time or two.

Continue reading “New Airport Set to Triple Numbers 2011” →

Airport to Double Parking Lot Size

The new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport had record breaking numbers this past summer, despite local difficulties.  We had tons of traffic coming in, but we also had more traffic going out than we’ve ever seen here before.  In fact, the number of people going out far exceeded expectations, so much so that the parking that was developed was not sufficient and the airport was forced to open temporary parking adjacent to the existing parking lot.

Continue reading “Airport to Double Parking Lot Size” →

Sheltair FBO Breaks Ground at New Airport

Sheltair Aviation broke ground on their new facility on Friday at their new location at the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.  The airport opened last May with General Aviation operating out of the new facility since mid summer.

Of the two FBO’s that were operating out of the old Panama City Airport, Sheltair is the only one that was able to successfully negotiate new terms for operation at the new facility.   The airport just cut ties with H4C, taking back possession of their land in a $6 million eminent domain deal.

The new Sheltair facility at the new Panama City airport will consist of a 5,000 square foot terminal and a 9,000 square foot hangar.  Officials estimate that the new FBO facility will have a $5 million impact on the area.

Half Million Passengers at New Airport This Summer

With this summer’s perils, the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport still handled nearly three times as many passengers as the old airport did the same period last year, 446,135 passengers over 160,000 to be exact.  On top of that, parking needs have exceeded expectations, pushing the airport board to develop additional permanent parking.

All in all, traffic expectations have been exceeded across the board, especially considering the summer we had on the beach.  There is a lot of speculation about the viability of Southwest Airlines maintaining their presence here, though, with average passenger loads weighing in around 64%, but officials are optimistic that 2011 will be much better.

Check after the break to read the full press release.

Continue reading “Half Million Passengers at New Airport This Summer” →

New Airport Passenger Traffic UP 170% over 2009

In case you’ve been wondering whether the construction of the new airport was in vain, 2010 passenger traffic since the new airport has been open is almost triple what it was in 2009, during the 2010 summer months.  Despite the threat of oil on our beaches, the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport and all the marketing horsepower that was brought to the market by Southwest Airlines has been considered a huge success.

A normal July and August usually brings about 30,000 people per month through the old Panama City airport, but this summer there was around 83,000 per month.  This number comes as a huge welcome and leaves immense speculation:  what would it have been like had we NOT had the oil spill scare?

Icing on the cake was October’s numbers, 73,000 passengers came through the new airport – attributed to fall breaks around the country, national holidays and a series of successful fall events on Panama City Beach.

As if increased traffic wasn’t enough, the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport seems to be drawing travelers regionally as well.  The parking lot frequently has cars from Tallahassee, Dothan, Ft. Walton, Destin, and even Pensacola.  The July and August numbers were also higher than Tallahassee’s passenger traffic numbers, for the first time ever – who normally come in at around 50,000 per month.

The word seems to be getting out that traveling to Panama City Beach is easier than it has ever been.  Mike Bennet, TDC Chairman and local restaurateur commented at Tuesday’s TDC meeting of a conversation he had with a visitor to one of his restaurants: “They were from Dallas, TX and normally took their beach vacation in Corpus Christi, and were surprised at how accessible and beautiful Panama City Beach was – they said they’d be coming back every year.”  This message was resounded by others recounting similar stories with customers.

Total annual traffic is now expected to be around 600,000 to 700,000 at the new Panama City Airport, which isn’t far off from big-city Pensacola, who passes around a million travelers through its gates every year.