SOUTHWEST AIRLINES EXPANDS TO PENSACOLA, FLORIDA

Another great opportunity for folks around the country to enjoy the Emerald Coast. I expect it will greatly increase our visitors to the area. Southwest Airlines has a great footprint around the country and should be a great vehicle for visitors to experience what our part of the country offers.

Southwest expands to Pensacola
By PAT KELLY
PCNH Writer pkelly@pcnh.com   747-5076 Twitter: @PCNHpatkelly
WEST BAY — The decision by Southwest Airlines to continue AirTran routes between Pensacola and Atlanta will have little effect on Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP), Bay County officials said. “For now, I don’t see any change from the announcement,” airport executive director John Wheat said Tuesday. “There is really no change in service.” AirTrain Airways, with its hub in Atlanta, merged with Southwest in May, and officials have been working to integrate the two operations, keeping some routes and closing others, Southwest spokeswoman Brandi King said Tuesday. The decision to retain at least some flights at Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport gives Southwest its first foothold in that city after both Pensacola and Okaloosa County’s Northwest Florida Regional Airport lost out to ECP in 2010 to bring Southwest to their respective airports. In the agreement that brought Southwest to ECP, the low-cost carrier agreed not to operate from any airport within a certain radius that included Okaloosa County but not Pensacola. King said the ongoing integration means AirTran’s hub system is being absorbed into Southwest’s point-to-point model which has successfully operated without a central hub. Delta Air Lines, the other major bay County carrier, operates daily flights to and from ECP and its hub is in Atlanta. King said Southwest will begin adding point-to-point flights to and from Atlanta in February, but it was too soon to speculate whether Southwest might one day operate from ECP to Atlanta in direct competition with Delta. As for Pensacola, “There is a little bit of difference in the passenger base,” she said. Wheat said his budget this year includes money for the airport to conduct an “analysis of airport development” that will help airlines make decisions on including routes at ECP. “There is a lot of competition among airports,” he said. Such a study, which is listed on today’s Airport Authority board agenda, would allow ECP to accumulate data on the airport’s fees and strengths, as well as local nearby communities such as Panama City, Panama City Beach and Destin, for use in marketing and airline decision-making.