VentureCrossings, St. Joe’s Enterprise Center at the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport will be home to ITT Corporation, one Bay County’s leading military technology contractors.  The new VentureCrossings Center was granted ‘through the fence’ access to use the new airport last November.  This commercial facility was planned and designed to be the home for commercial businesses just like this.

Press Release

(September 6, 2011 – Bay County, FL)  The Bay County Economic Development Alliance (EDA) is pleased to announce that ITT Corporation’s Panama City facility plans to expand its operations to a new, 100,000-square-foot building at VentureCrossings Enterprise Center at West Bay, near the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, in mid-2012. The company will be the first commercial development in the business park built by The St. Joe Company in its 70,000-acre West Bay sector. ITT is projected to hire an additional 30 employees, increasing its total employment to 120, at an average annual wage of $49,500, exceeding 150 percent of Bay County’s average annual wage.

The Panama City facility develops and deploys secure, networked communications and essential electronic warfare, sensing, surveillance, reconnaissance and structures technologies to detect and clear mines from maritime waters. Its Mine Defense Systems operation’s primary Department of Defense local customer is the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division.

“Mine defense is essential to keeping global trade safe and dependable,” said Vice President and General Manager Rich Sorelle of ITT’s Electronic Systems’ integrated electronic warfare systems business. “A growing number of customers, both in the U.S. and around the world, have chosen ITT technology to protect the shipping lanes from threats to world trade.”

Facilitated by the EDA, a competitive package of state and local incentives was leveraged to assist ITT in its expansion in Bay County. The company was approved for Florida’s Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund and a Bay County Property Tax Abatement.

“The EDA not only focuses on attracting companies to Bay County, we also assist our diversified industries in their expansion needs,” said Glen McDonald, chairman of the EDA. “It is because of the partnership with the State of Florida and the Bay County Board of County Commissioners that this project has been successful.”

“ITT’s decision to expand its Bay County operations has a notable economic impact on our community,” said Janet Watermeier, executive director of the EDA. “For every 10 jobs ITT creates, an additional 10 jobs will be created in other areas of the local community. For every $100 that ITT spends, an additional $27 in sales will be generated by other Bay County companies. For every $100 that ITT spends in wages, an additional $46 will be earned by other Bay County workers.”

About ITT Corporation

ITT Corporation is a high-technology engineering and manufacturing company operating on all seven continents in three vital markets: water and fluids management, global defense and security, and motion and flow control. With a heritage of innovation, ITT partners with its customers to deliver extraordinary solutions that create more livable environments, provide protection and safety and connect our world. Headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., the company reported 2010 revenue of $11 billion. www.itt.com.

This summer, Sheltair opened it’s FBO (short for fixed base operations) at the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.  They are the only FBO at the new airport, and they also operated an FBO at the old Panama City Airport (PFN).

“We are so thrilled to have opened our beautiful, new facility in order to better serve our based, as well as transient customers in the Florida panhandle,” said Danny Walsh, Vice President of Aviation at Sheltair, “This location is truly one of the flagship FBO’s in our network and will now be a gateway for many to some of the most gorgeous beaches and scenery that this state has to offer.”

What is an FBO

An FBO is a Fixed Base Operator that provides aeronautical services at commercial airports.  The Federal Aviation Administration defines an FBO as A commercial business granted the right by the airport sponsor to operate on an airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, etc..

In other words, if you’re a private pilot or a member of the general aviation community, you would use this new facility to come and go from the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.

About the new facility

Sheltair had been operating at the new Panama City Beach airport out of a temporary space on the airfield, but they just moved into their new 5,000 square foot facility end of July.  The building was build to LEED Certification standards and is currently in the approval process with the U.S. Green Building Council.

Some of the amenities at the new facility include:

• Spacious passenger lobby
• Conference room
• Pilots lounge
• Flight planning and weather room
• Complimentary interior cleaning
• Catering
• Crew cars
• Cafeteria/vending area
• Complimentary refreshments/snacks
• Wireless Internet

In addition to the main building, Sheltair also offers 1,680 square feet of office rental space and a 9,100 square foot hangar that’s available for lease.

For more information about Sheltair, visit SheltairAviation.com

More pictures

One of the big things supporters wanted out of the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport was lower fares.  And lower fares we received.  The average per ticket fare at the old airport (PFN) was a whopping $583.  The average per ticket fare at the new airport (ECP) is $354.  Of course, that’s not to say, if you keep an eye on the deals you can’t find one of Southwest’s famous $50 trips.

ECP Airfare Costs Comparison

Before the new airport, Panama City’s airfare costs were second to the highest in the state of Florida.  Now we fall right in the middle.

Average Airfare 2009

Average Airfare 2010

Current Traffic and Future Forecasts

In addition to lower fares, traffic is way up as well.  On average, the new airport is passing almost triple the number of people the old airport did consistently each month.  Here’s a snapshot of some of the existing numbers and future projections of passenger traffic growth.

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2009 market share for our airport was a measly 9.1%.  Current market share for the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport has more than doubled to 22.1%.

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Total number of flights

8 SWA departures and arrivals – 16 total flights – 7,657 seats per week

10 Delta departures and arrivals – 20 total flights – 5,135 seats per week

Thoughts, comments?

What are your thoughts on the new airport.  Have you flown out of it?  What are your impressions on it?  Was your fare lower?

The old mantra, “If you build it, they will come,” certainly seems true with the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.  Despite opposition, the new location seems to be meeting expectations.  With a new parking facility under construction and monthly passenger traffic up almost three times what is was in the old airport, it’s safe to say the new facility is getting it’s use.

The Airport Authority recently named Andy McKenzie the new chairman of the board, in replacement of Gerry Clemons.  Clemons retired his position due to term limits.

A lifelong resident of Panama City, Mr. McKenzie has been a member of the Airport Authority since 2005. Mr. McKenzie is CEO and founder of McKenzie Insurance Associates, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, and previously served as chief investigator for the Bay County Sheriff’s Department.

“I am honored to serve as chairman of the Airport Authority and look forward to continuing the success that the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport has experienced in its first year of operation,” said McKenzie.

One of these successes was the Airport’s milestone of serving one million passengers, which it reached in July.

“Serving one million passengers is a tremendous achievement,” said McKenzie. “I know the Airport’s outstanding leadership and staff will drive this momentum even further as they continue to provide the highest quality service to passengers.”

The Airport Authority also voted John E. Pilcher, III as its vice-chair. Inducted to the Airport Authority in 2010, Mr. Pilcher owns Pilcher Storage and has served on the Panama City Commission.

One year and 800,000 passengers later, the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport is regarded a huge success.  Today was the one year anniversary to the opening of the new airport in Panama City Beach.  The celebration included a gathering, speeches and the unveiling of a huge “rock” that commemorated the sponsors involved in the Grand Opening one year ago today.

Serving 800,000 passengers in the past year, the new location has catapulted the airport traffic above Tallahassee and just below Pensacola’s airport which sees an estimated 1 million annual passengers.  The current traffic is three times greater than the traffic the old airport saw annually.

In addition to making our area more accessible to vacation travelers across the country, the new airport has also decreased the average per flight rate by 31%.  This is an average across the board, factoring in rates from Delta as well.

The new lower rates has rippled through local industry, offering savings that’s enabled companies to hire more people, bring on new projects and overall expand.  Applied Research, who employs around 200 people, 100 of which have PhD’s and Master degrees in various arenas, spends roughly $700k in airline tickets every year.  The 30% savings has resulted in around $216k that they’ve been able to keep in their pocket to use in their business, reported Glen McDonald, their Senior VP.

The new airport’s Southwest carrier services 4 locations with 8 flights a day, which equates to 2,000 seats every day.

Commissioner Mike Thomas said people would complain about just about anything.  He recounted this morning that he got a call at 7:30 am about a rooster crowing in their neighborhood off Thomas Drive.  He said he welcomed that call, mentioning that if that’s all someone has to complain about, it must be a beautiful day.  He said he fielded tons of other complaints over the years about the new airport but agreed it was a success and was proud to have supported it in its development.

All in all, it was a fun event.  The growth of our area is apparent with the new airport, and no doubt, it’s opened up a whole new world of possibilities for local travel out and visiters traveling in.

Over the last year or so, you’ve heard the coined phrased a million times, “The Southwest Effect,” or, more specifically, the increase in airline travel to and from a community after service is inaugurated by Southwest Airlines. That phrase, and it’s somewhat pretentious definition, was the cornerstone in the big push to get the new airport placed, built and quickly up and running. You’ve waited with your doors open expecting the flood of Chicagoans, Tennesseans and the like to see our local marketing efforts and low fares into the “World’s Most Beautiful Beach” and show up with money in hand. Well, that hasn’t exactly happened yet, (insert BP insult here), but that’s not to say that this summer won’t see a spike in airline travel and, consequently, more traffic to your business. Recent trends, suggest, the “Effect” might be happening very soon.

Airline Travel:

Earlier this year, now former airport Executive Director, Randy Curtis, stated that statistics taken from the July-August season in 2010 compared to the old-airport’s numbers during the same time frame experienced a significant increase. In July-August 2009, the old airport handled about 30,000 monthly passengers. In 2010, however, during those same summer months, the numbers jumped to 83,000 passengers (per month) despite negative, national media coverage of BP’s oil disaster and the nation’s economical hardships.

Randy Curtis simplified the numbers-by stating that this year’s expectations are leaning towards “3x’s the number of passengers the old airport handled during the same time frame”.

So what does that mean? Well, quite simply, the “Effect” is in effect. What everyone expected from the new airport and the arrival of Southwest Airlines was that more flights would produce more visitors and a broader clientele. The first half of that is already true. We’ve essentially tripled the amount of passengers coming into Panama City Beach. So, does that necessarily mean more money?

Hotel Booking Numbers:

In a recent article, we explained how Hoteliers were cautiously optimistic about this year’
s tourist season. It seems that optimism is beginning to produce actual numbers and the numbers are good. We spoke with two local hotels and a condo owner renting properties on his own. In all three cases, numbers were up so far. One hotel GM even went as far as to say that Thunder Beach was “the best one we’ve ever had financially”. But it isn’t actual heads-in-beds that had everyone raving.

Nick Armstrong, GM of the Chateau Motel, said, “Our early bookings are up, compared to last year where people were more likely to wait until the last minute.”

Early booking numbers suggest that a). people are no longer worried about Oil, b). potential vacationers are more willing to set aside money they would/could not last year and c). individuals booking flights are also booking rooms.

If this trend continues, by the end of winter, hotel and condo numbers should be definitive as to whether the “Effect” has had any effect on them.

Increased Staffing:

If you drove around the beach just before Spring Break, you saw “Now Hiring” signs all over the place. This is not uncommon for our area as our seasons dictate the hiring increases. What is uncommon is that the “Now Hiring” signs are still up. In a recent visit to Pier Park, lots of establishments are hiring more people to help deal with the more individuals coming through their doors. Restaurants have bulked up staff members for both the increase in visitors and because of the numbers they project to do this summer. What was once “cautious optimism” is becoming serious preparation. This, of course, suggests that not only do the numbers show an increase in visitors now, but that our little town could be in for a BIG summer.

In a move that will inch them closer to being the largest airline in the US, Southwest Airlines closed the purchase of AirTran Airways Monday.  The airline already flies more passengers per year, over 100 million, but most of them are vacation travelers, rather than business travelers.  This purchase move is said to increase their leverage to capture the higher-fare-paying business traveler.

Acquisition benefits to Southwest Airlines

• Gains access to Washington’s Reagan National Airport
• Acquired gates in New York’s LaGuardia Airport
• Acquires AirTran’s hub in Atlanta
• Will increase passenger traffic by 25%

As of right now, it’s unclear how Southwest’s $1 billion purchase of AirTran will effect the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.  It’s assumed that Southwest will integrate AirTran’s routes with their own, but it’s too early to tell how this will  pan out.  Obviously a huge element of this buy is the acquisition of the Atlanta hub as this is highly sought after in the business travel arena.  Of course, the Atlanta part of this deal is particularly interesting to us as that area has always been a great feeder to our market.  If access to Atlanta was easier, we may be able to expect a boost in tourism travel from there.

There has been some changes in management at the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.  Former Executive Director Randy Curtis has been moved to a different role, Director of Special Projects and John Wheat was named the Executive Director.  This move came quickly with little fanfare and only but a little commotion from one of the board members who held the only dissenting vote – Andy McKenzie.  McKenzie’s quarrel with the swift action was that it was just that, too fast.

In the past, airport positions have been well publicized, accepted many resumes and have opened up discussion for the board in advance.  The hiring of Wheat was fast, not well discussed in public and actually slipped through in the board meeting without his name being mentioned.

The quick movements were justified by other board members by the time-sensitive negotiations the board was in with Southwest and Delta Airlines over future landing fees.  As of date, the airlines have not been happy with the pace of negotiations and the new appointments were expected to accelerate a final agreement.  Landing fees are a significant revenue generator for the airport.  Concurrent with the appointment of Wheat as the new executive director, both airlines and St. Joe gave their nod of approval of Wheat as well.

Another appointment was made as well: Parker McClellan as the Deputy Executive Director.

I bet you’re wondering how much all these guys make.  I know I sure was.  In an article recently released in the News Herald, the annual salaries were noted:  John Wheat, Executive Director, $135,000; Parker McClellan, Deputy Executive Director, $100,000; Randy Curtis, Director of Special Projects, $116,000.

Here is the full press release:

Panama City, Fla. (April 27, 2011) – The Airport Authority has named John Wheat as the executive director of the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. As executive director, Wheat is responsible for leading the operational and strategic efforts of the Airport and reports to the Airport Authority Board of Directors. Wheat brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the aviation industry and most recently served as COO of the Tampa International Airport, where he was responsible for the organization’s finances and operations, as well as brings valued relationships with key partners.

The Airport Authority has also introduced a new organizational model for the Airport with a leadership team that is well-positioned to take the organization forward. This includes Parker McClellan as Deputy Executive Director and Randy Curtis as Director of Special Projects. McClellan, who most recently served as the acting director for the Airport, is now the Deputy Executive Director to ensure a comprehensive leadership team with all airport activity working through this position and up to the Executive Director. Curtis will play an important role in the closing of the “old airport”, as well as ensuring the airport maintains positive relationships with various state and federal agencies. His historical and institutional knowledge will be valuable to the upcoming work on behalf of this organization.

With the addition of John Wheat, the Northwest Florida Beaches International leadership team brings the vision, experience and relationships to best leverage one of the community’s greatest assets. This strategic leadership team is focused on driving the region’s economic vitality as they lead the first international airport to open in more than 10 years. The gateway to beautiful world-famous beaches, Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport boasts a plethora of convenient flights daily serviced by Southwest Airlines and Delta Airlines.

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.

It was January when I was looking through some old PCBDaily pictures and realized that I didn’t have any pictures of the New Airport as a completed project.  The new airport has opened up a whole new era of travel to Panama City Beach, spurred an immensely competitive arena for air travel to Northwest Florida (think $19 flights from Vision to VPS) and has consistently posted numbers three times what the old airport did month over month.

Now, before you look at these pictures, I want to address ONE thing – the lack of people in the shots.

When I was on site taking the pictures, I realized something that I hadn’t before I arrived, or I would have planned this a little better.  Flights come in on a schedule (duh), but I didn’t realize that the place would be practically empty in the 2 hours in between flights.  Well, it just so happened that when I came on property, the afternoon Southwest jet had just left, full with an afternoon crowd.  So, naysayers, before you jump into the comments with accusations that the new airport is empty, realize that the time before each flight leaves, the place is jam-packed.  I was asked to come back at 5 am right before the morning flight – I was told the baggage check area is full, almost wall to wall.

So, without further ado, here are the pictures!

The one year anniversary for the opening of the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport is coming up fast but we figured many of you still haven

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

“If you market it, you must be prepared to staff it”

This is a *statement liberated from Socrates’s, um- well, his lesser known cousin, ahem, **Heraclitus.

However, let’s not quarrel over the origins of the statement, and opt to simply take into consideration it’s message.

We’ve been marketing, promoting, negotiating and canoodling with every possible venue, avenue, social site and persons, to spread the good word.

The word being that Spring Break & the Summer Season of 2011, is bigger and now-with-more-sparkles, then this past year of troubled times. The campaign has been proving it’s success through various ways of tracking, and along with the success of inviting the masses into our community, we’ve properly followed through by reaching out to the employable community to help handle the welcomed influx.

Article Below

I’m sure you’ve seen the signs peppering our streets, through out the county.  I know for me, just a quick jaunt to run errands produced no less the 5 signs stating that the respective business was now hiring for the season.

As usual, this is a common occurrence during the start of our tourist season, but the volume of help that local shops are looking to bring aboard, appears to be running slightly higher then normal.

These higher numbers are due in part, to the anticipation of a stronger season then we’ve seen in the past.

In fact, you don’t even have to leave the house to find Help Wanted campaigns. Just today, there was a post on our own Facebook Page, asking for people to apply for Promotion work on the weekends.

A recent job fair offered a chance to talk with recruiters from over 50 businesses, some were seasonal jobs with Resorts or attractions like Shipwreck Island. Yet others, for example, the online travel company Bookit.com, were on hand seeking locals looking for steady work.

Other businesses, like Applebee’s on Middle Beach Rd, simply spelled out there need on the storefront sign, which read “Now Hiring For Season.”

Numerous locations seem to be following the signage route, while others have doubled their efforts by adding listings on their own websites, facebook pages or even tweeting news of openings.

For example, Coyotes, according their website, is currently holding bar-tending auditions every Weds night, for those who can “pour a drink, keep a beat and look good doing it”

This is just a small example of  hopeful indictations regarding growth and success for the coming year. With the Airport, the positive PR campaigns (sans the Seventeen Article, and a few others) as well as pictorial proof of our beaches, the possibility of this season being one for the record books, is continuing to shine bright.

* The  statement is not even close to being an ancient philosophers.

**I realize that Heraclitus holds no family ties to Socrates. I simply picked him out of the Greek Philosopher’s hat. Due only to the fact that he was known as “The Weeping Philosopher” with a reputation for harboring a pessimistic view of human nature. The irony made me smile. Upbeat Article, Debbie-Downer Philosopher= Sweet Irony.