WHAT WILL SOUTHWEST AIRLINES MEAN TO OUR LOCAL ECONOMY

Well folks. Southwest is on their way and the Panhandle of Florida is going to be better for it. As you will see, the impact is far reaching for our region. I am sure more information will be forthcoming, but the initial information on the impact is extraordinary.
Southwest to benefit local businesses, officials say

By SCARLET SIMS and DANIEL CARSON
2009-10-21 17:56:58
WEST BAY — Southwest Airlines will bring lower airfares and draw more businesses to the Panama City area, officials said Wednesday.
“What a low-cost carrier will do is connect us to the world,” said Janet Watermeier, Bay County Economic Development Alliance executive director.
Southwest announced Wednesday its intention to add up to eight direct flights to the new Northwest Florida-Panama City International Airport when it opens in May. The announcement comes after months of speculation about whether the airport could draw a major low-cost carrier. Southwest has about 3,300 flights a day and is the largest U.S. carrier for domestic departures as of last year, according to the company Web site.
Bodine and Watermeier said the low-cost carrier means lower airfares.
Southwest’s average passenger airfare is about $114, according to its Web site. Delta Air Lines, which has served the Panama City airport 25 years, will be competing with Southwest. Using the company Web site, a roundtrip ticket to Washington, D.C., currently costs about $500.
“While we can’t comment on future pricing, Delta is a vigorous competitor in every market we serve,” Delta spokesman Kent Landers said in e-mail.
Delta has a global connection it brings to Panama City, Landers said. On Tuesday the airline announced plans to grow its international flights, according to its Web site.
Delta and its carriers probably will lose passengers to Southwest, said Dr. Rick Harper, the University of West Florida’s Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development. Northwest Florida Regional Airport in Okaloosa County and Tallahassee Regional Airport are also likely to lose passengers who have been driving an hour to find cheaper fares, he said via e-mail.
Capturing Southwest’s attention means the largest domestic carrier thinks highly of the areas growth potential, Harper said.

Military impact
Southwest’s arrival also will be welcomed by defense contractors and serve as a boon to area efforts in attracting future military missions to Tyndall Air Force Base and Naval Support Activity-Panama City, Panama City-based Applied Research Associates vice president Glen McDonald said.
Businessmen will have fast and affordable transportation, something that is especially important to defense contractors, Bodine said. A lot of defense contractors come in and out of the city, having Southwest might draw even more defense contractors, said Bay County Chamber of Commerce President Carol Roberts.
“It’s a win-win for everyone,” Roberts said. “More people are going to come to the region.”
Watermeier said she knew one contractor who told her that his business would double should Southwest come to Panama City.
ARA vice president Glen McDonald said Wednesday’s announcement would mean more direct flights, lower airfares and a wider choice of travel options for defense contractors.
“It will not only lower our costs, it will also lower military costs,” McDonald said.
Most area contractors fly to the Washington, D.C., area for business purposes, McDonald said, which would make daily flights to Baltimore-Washington International Airport well traveled. Southwest will fly direct from Panama City to four cities, but those locations have not yet been announced.
McDonald said the addition of Southwest’s flights would be “a big deal” for contractors, with the added competition putting pressure on existing carriers to lower their fares as well.
ITT director Matt Miller said Southwest’s arrival would make it cheaper to do business.
“It’s long overdue,” Miller said.
Defense firms have to include travel expenses when they bid contracts, another reason to applaud the Southwest decision, McDonald said.
McDonald said the Department of Defense and various military branches, when considering locations for new military missions and platforms, look at potential travel costs as a factor in their selections.
“In the past, when we’ve been up against those travel costs, we’ve lost,” McDonald said.
ARA had collected data on military, defense contractor, business and overall travel, as well as projected travel, in and out of the area and provided it to the Bay Economic Development Alliance, McDonald said.
He said that information was provided to a number of airline carriers, including Southwest.
Bay Defense Alliance and area officials have been aggressively promoting Tyndall Air Force Base as a possible future F-35 training site in light of the Air Force’s May announcement of its intentions to accelerate the drawdown of Tyndall’s two F-15 squadrons.
BDA President Tom Neubauer said the addition of Southwest would also make Bay County’s military bases more competitive with other bases for future missions.
“Getting those fares down is very, very big,” Neubauer said.

Tourism impact
Other businesses already rooted in the community will benefit, too, said Berg Steel Pipe president David Delie. Delie might fly to Washington, D.C., up to 24 times during a year, he said. More affordable flights will mean either more travel, company savings and also benefit Berg’s customers and venders, he said.
“It’s a good thing for Berg, it’s a good thing for the city,” Delie said. “We’re really excited. It makes doing business a lot easier.”
Getting Southwest also means more tourism, Harper said. That’s exactly what Coastal Vision 3000, an organization established to promote Panhandle tourism, hopes for. Southwest is exactly what the region needed, said Mel Ponder, executive director.
“When they (Southwest) come to an area, the whole area just explodes really,” Ponder said.
Tourists often decide to look at Panama City to open a business, said Gulf Coast Workforce Board executive director Kim Bodine. More businesses might choose to start up in Panama City, she said.
Ponders expects an immediate difference, with about 2,000 seats filled and flying into Panama City the first day. Bodine said area businesses see gradual improvements instead of a major burst because of the recession.
“I think we’ll see an immediate improvement; I’m just not sure how large that will be,” she said.