It could be tough to find a state as air-accessible as Florida. The Sunshine State boasts over a dozen international airports, with some, including Tampa and St. Petersburg, and Miami and Fort Lauderdale, within a short drive of each other. The only region slightly more challenging than others to fly into was Northwest Florida—and now that’s a snap, too, thanks to the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, which opened last May near Panama City. It offers service on Southwest and Delta to such cities as Atlanta, Memphis, Houston, Nashville and Baltimore/Washington.
"I am absolutely ecstatic about the new airport," says Dan Rowe, president and CEO of the Panama City Beach CVB. "We’ve had a 300 percent increase in enplanement this year over last year. Now people can get anywhere from here. And the cost of flying in and out of Panama City Beach has gone down dramatically."
While the new airport has tourism officials walking on air, other Florida facilities shared bragging rights for their own improvements. At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, JetBlue added nonstop service from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as well as service from Hartford, Conn., while Spirit Airlines and Allegiant also added flights.
Speaking of Allegiant, 10 routes that had been removed from Orlando Sanford International Airport have been restored, including Allentown, Pa., and Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C. Meanwhile, at nearby Orlando International Airport, Virgin America launched new service from Los Angeles and San Francisco, while Apple Vacations and Sun County Airlines inaugurated service from Lansing, Mich.
Things just got easier on the ground at Miami International Airport, where a massive new rental car center has opened across the street from the terminals. It’s the first phase of the $1.7 billion Miami Intermodal Center travel hub, which by 2015 will connect virtually all county modes of transportation—literally, planes, trains and automobiles—in one location.
Additionally, Jacksonville International Airport just unveiled a new Executive Conference Room featuring full-service catering.
