As I've mentioned before, I'm a native of Panama City, Florida. Very few of us have left the Redneck Riviera--and that is probably because the Emerald Coast is one of our nation's best kept secrets. It's gorgeous there. Hand on my heart, the beaches blow away anything I've ever seen in Hawaii or California and are on par with the best shores of the Caribbean. But my quiet--and okay, a bit backwater--town may soon be thrust into the tourism spotlight.
The main reason Panama City and the surrounding communities of Destin, San Destin, Watercolor, etc. have remained so small is that flying there is incredibly expensive. With only one carrier serving the tiny airport, round-trip tickets from California go for $700 year round. A round-trip flight from nearby Atlanta is usually about $300 and that's an easy four-hour drive.
For years we've held our breath and crossed our fingers that another airline would come in and create a little competition but it has never happened. Well, that's not true. Occasionally another carrier would attempt it for a few months, only to discontinue service after a few months.
Enter the St. Joe Company. If you live in the area, you know their name. In fact, you probably know at least one member of the family who owns it. This real estate company owns much of the pristine land on the Panhandle and they're changing the face of Florida for the future. Bye-bye tacky motels. Hello, Truman-show-style communities. All in all the effect, in my opinion, has been a good one. What the local government could never achieve in urban planning, they have been able to do.
But they've had just one problem: getting people to the area. And so they donated land to get a brand-new airport built, and now, in an even bolder move, they're subsidizing Southwest Airlines to fly to the region to the tune of a reported $10 million dollars.
When I call friends and family back home, the Southwest deal is all they can think about. After years of feeling cut off from the outside world, they will finally gain affordable access to the skies. Even better, it is expected to have a very positive effect on local tourism, which has been hard hit by the economy.
As this USA Today article points out, this isn't the first time an airline has been subsidized to fly to a destination but it is the first time that an airline has been subsidized by a non-travel company. And for me, this opens up larger questions about the public's right to affordable travel.
Should carriers that fly to smaller airports without competition be allowed to name their own ticket prices? Should we allow the market to run its course and hope that private companies step in, as St. Joe Company did?
Comments
Oct 30, 2009
The government should step in if an airline has a monopoly on a regional airport and jacks up prices to an insane level. Unfortunately, deregulation made that impossible. Instead of completely deregulating they should have rolled it back and still retained some power in cases where a region has no other choice but to fly with a certain airline.
Oct 30, 2009
I Agree the government should intervene and take hold of it.
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Nov 03, 2009
"Should carriers that fly to smaller airports without competition be allowed to name their own ticket prices?"
Of course. Why on earth would you think otherwise? The Southwest and real estate deals you're salivating over for instance are the direct result of a free market economy. Anything else, i.e.: government involvement, would lead to economic stagnation.
Nov 03, 2009
I'm wondering how you feel about this as a former resident -- yes, it's good for the local economy and everything, but do you have a pang of sadness that your pristine beaches may soon be overrun with masses of tourists? Or am I just being nostalgic?
Nov 03, 2009
That's true Government is only responsible for all this. They are the one who can control all this.
Nov 09, 2009
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Nov 13, 2009
Anything else, i.e.: government involvement, would lead to economic stagnation. Links of London | Links of London
Dec 06, 2009
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Feb 05, 2010
The government needs to stay out of the free market. They have caused enough problems already!