Official: Major airlines coming

PANAMA CITY Airport Authority Chairman Joe Tannehill promised Friday the new airport under construction near West Bay will draw several major airlines, including a "legacy" carrier and two international carriers.
   
A legacy carrier is one that revolves around a hub-and-spoke network and corporate structure, such as Delta (which serves the existing airport), Southwest, American and United, airline experts say.
   
The new Panama City-Bay County International Airport, with its 10,000-foot runway, will be the largest in Northwest Florida and also is poised to earn its "international" appellation, Tannehill told the Bay County Chamber of Commerce.
   
Each of the international carriers will fly in once a week, he said.
   
Airlines operating out of Bay County's new airport, set to open in May 2010, will include not only a legacy airline, but a discount carrier and a cargo carrier such as FedEx, Tannehill said.
   
While legacy carriers usually include services such as first or business class and frequent flyer programs, discount carriers generally offer substantially lower fares by eliminating some traditional services, experts say.
   
Tannehill's comments came Friday as he gave chamber members an update of the airport's construction progress, including a slide show and short promotional video.
   
More than 200 workers are toiling at the airport's site just north of County 388, he said. When completed, the project will have moved 4 million cubic yards of dirt and 500,000 cubic yards of "muck," Tannehill said.
   
He said the $318-million project, which he called an "economic engine" that would fuel regional growth, would give the area a marketing strength it had not known in the past.
   
In addition, the airport, with its 125,000-square-foot terminal, also would be the nation's first "green" carbon-neutral airport.