VISION AIRLINES BEGINS TAKE OFF IN FORT WALTON BEACH ON FRIDAY

10 more destinations for Vision
Airline will begin serving an additional five cities April 1
By DUSTY RICKETTS
Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4448 dricketts@nwfdailynews.com  

Friday will be a big day for Vision Airlines. In December, the airline launched direct flights from Northwest Florida Regional Airport to Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Miami. On Friday it will expand service to 10 additional destinations, with five more to start the following week. “We want to be part of the revitalization of the area,” said Clay Meek, marketing and business development director for Vision Airlines. “We’re doing our part to make sure that there are plenty of heads in beds. That’s part of our commitment to the community.” Vision Airlines’ newest destinations will be Atlanta; Baton Rouge, La.; Fort Lauderdale; Fort Myers; Huntsville, Ala.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Little Rock, Ark.; Louisville, Ky.; Savannah, Ga.; and Tampa. Service will start April 1 to and from Chattanooga, Tenn.; Shreveport, La.; Asheville, N.C.; Columbia, S.C.; and Orlando. Meek said Louisville has been the top seller to and from Northwest Florida Regional, followed by Little Rock and Shreveport. He said Vision Airlines started direct flights between Louisville and Atlanta last year, which helped establish the airline there before the expansion to Northwest Florida was announced. While sales for most destinations have been strong, reservations for two destinations did not meet expectations and those flights have been canceled. “We did end up deciding not to serve Birmingham or Macon,” Meek said. “I wasn’t that surprised Macon didn’t make it. I thought that was a little bit of a stretch just because it’s not that big of a town. But Birmingham has so many people that drive (to Northwest Florida), we thought it would do really, really well.” To celebrate the expanded service, Vision Airlines is having a sale in which a certain number of seats on every plane scheduled to fly between now and May 21 will sell for $19. The sale, which was set to end Thursday, has been so successful that Vision Airlines has extended it to 11:59 p.m. Sunday. “We believe if we can put someone on this aircraft, that they’re going to strongly consider putting the family on it at $99 a seat three months from now when it’s June,” Meek said. “It makes good business sense to us.” So far, most of the attention has been about the tourists Vision Airlines will bring to the area. Meek said he hopes locals will take advantage of the low fares to visit other areas in the Southeast. “This is a great opportunity to take the family and put them on a plane at $190, $200 round trip, put four people on a plane and go get away for the weekend and see the Biltmore (mansion in Ashville, N.C.),” Meek said.