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Southwest Airlines Picks Panama City; Mayor Says Southwest May Still Fly Pensacola
October 21, 2009
Southwest Airlines announced that they will being servicing the airport in Panama City next year, but Gulf Coast Regional Airport officials in Pensacola are hopeful that Southwest will also choose to “Fly Pensacola”
The CEO of low-cost carrier Southwest, Gary Kelly, said Wednesday that the airline will begin service in May of next year when the new Northwest Florida-Panama City International Airport opens. Southwest will being service with two flights to four yet to be named destinations daily on Boeing 737s.
“Southwest has also assured us in conversations this morning that its announcement in Panama City does not in any way indicate Pensacola is out of the running,” Pensacola Mayor Wiggins said Wednesday.
Wiggins pointed out that in the discussions today with Southwest, company officials again indicated the company has never considered the decision of where to begin service to this region as a “competition between Pensacola and Panama City.”
“Southwest reiterated that Pensacola is a strong market and is still being considered by them for service”, he said. “After our discussions I am even more confident than before that Southwest sees Pensacola as a market they want to serve.”
Wiggins stressed that discussions between Pensacola officials and Southwest are ongoing and that the efforts to build public support for Southwest through the “LUV Southwest” pledge program are continuing.
“We are scheduled to meet with Southwest in Dallas in early November to present the results of the region’s effort to attract Southwest as part of a continuing and detailed discussion of bringing their service to Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport,” he said.
“Until then we will continue to build support for Southwest throughout our community to show them how much we want them here. I think they are listening and they have assured us these discussions are serious and that Pensacola is very much in the picture,” the mayor said.
Comments
One Response to “Southwest Airlines Picks Panama City; Mayor Says Southwest May Still Fly Pensacola”
I fly Airtran out of pensacola on a regular basis, and would hope that the take over by Southwest would include service to this convenient, and always full flight area. We have lots of military that fill these planes, and plenty of tourists during the season on the discount flights. I personally need this airline to commute back and forth to NY and if it works on the the flight plans, south Florida. Pensacola is a really worthwhile destination.