Okaloosa County BOCC — November 5, 2013 — reading text

 Those who are not familiar with the area and traveling there for the first or second time say they picked up their knowledge of the airport through the travel planning process, relying on travel websites and the airlines to determine the closest airport or find the best flights.  In many cases, travelers have a local connection and learned about the airport and what to call it from friends or relatives. This led to a local influence on how visitors perceive and talk about the airport. 6. For the most part, the airport is not a vital part of the overall travel experience. Travelers consider it part of the airport’s job to make their experience uneventful.  Regardless of the nature or length of their trip, travelers at VPS said their experience at the airport was not usually a significant factor in their overall travel experience. Many said airports, for the most part, are not memorable.  On the other hand, for those airports that are memorable, it is usually for negative reasons. Travelers said they preferred airports, like VPS, that were so seamless and easy that they hardly noticed traveling through them at all – allowing them to “zone out,” as many travelers like to do. Packet Pg. 605 9 Detailed Findings  Airport Selection Perceptions of VPS and Competing Airports Naming Packet Pg. 606 Airport Selection  For most trips, proximity to their final destination is a traveler’s primary criterion when choosing an airport. Other factors, such as flight costs and schedules, compete for second place.  Almost invariably, “distance,” “location,” or “proximity” were the first responses from VPS visitors when asked how they choose airports when traveling. This strikes these travelers as self-explanatory.  Besides proximity, cost and the number of flights are also factors. For some travelers, if the flights into the closest airport are significantly more expensive, not offered by their preferred airline, or only offered at inconvenient times, they may choose to fly into an alternate airport. Even these respondents said proximity was still the primary factor.  Those travelers who had flown into VPS even when visiting one of the other beaches said VPS offered more flights or more convenient flight times.  Given that flight times and costs are the factors some VPS visitors said can sometimes override proximity, it follows that this would be true in the case for VPS and its competing airports. Some travelers attested to flying in and out of VPS even when visiting Pensacola or Panama City due to the availability of less expensive or more abundant flights.  On the other hand, there were also travelers who said they had flown into Panama City or Pensacola but visited a beach in the Okaloosa County area. In these cases the motive was also flight schedules or costs. Travelers are occasionally confronted with last- minute planning that precludes flying into the most logical airport due to prohibitive prices or simply sold-out flights.  First-time travelers to the area learn about VPS from airlines, booking websites, and local word of mouth. Many VPS visitors have friends or family who live or own property in the area – some employed by Eglin Air Force Base – and rely on these connections for helping to plan their travel.  These VPS visitors say they selected the airport based on what they had been told or had found while searching travel websites. While searching for VPS online can present some challenges due to the various ways the airport is listed, this did not seem to cause any serious confusion. Those with local connections to the area were far less likely to have considered flying into an alternate airport, choosing instead to trust their friend’s or relative’s advice and fly into VPS. Packet Pg. 607 11 Airport Selection  The airport does not significantly impact the overall leisure or business travel experience, but can still play a memorable role if it causes significant inconvenience or discomfort.  For the most part, VPS visitors said the airport did not play a large role in their trip as a whole. These travelers expect the airport to be at least somewhat of a hassle, and do not expect it to enhance their trip.  On the other hand, there were travelers who said it is the airport’s job to be exceptionally smooth so that they do not have a memorably bad experience. At least one respondent remarked that a particularly bad experience at the airport – whether it is a long trek between gates that causes a missed connection or overly lengthy security lines – could mar the trip somewhat.  The convenience of the airport does not seem to play a role in selecting beach destinations to visit.  While convenience to their final destination is usually most important in choosing an airport, the inverse – convenience to an airport when choosing a destination – is not a factor. VPS visitors said they choose beach destinations for a variety of factors and then determine how they will get there, rather than choosing a beach destination based on its convenience to transportation. Packet Pg. 608 12 In Their Own Words “It was really cut and dry. This “I always fly to the Panhandle because my family is is the airport that my friend here. But I do have three different airports to told me to fly into.” choose from. So, at that point it becomes some sort of cost analysis. This is relatively the closest one, but I have flown into Pensacola and I have flown “I fly United all of the time and into a smaller one in Panama City once. Overall, it is it is really convenient for me to a balance between the cost and being able to get get a flight here, especially to picked up by one of my relatives or getting a car.” and from San Diego because San Diego has a ton of flights to Houston and Houston flies “Proximity [is #1], but obviously if an airport is a through [here] very quickly.” little further but costs $200 less, that is something I would look into. … I wasn't sure what [VPS] was and I remember trying to look and make sure I picked an “I think there is another airport that was closer. But I spoke to someone from [airport] in Pensacola, but this the area who said [it was].” one is closer to where my daughter lives. That’s why I use “I am always going to fly into wherever is closest to Fort Walton Beach [Airport].” my destination.” Packet Pg. 609 13 Detailed Findings Airport Selection  Perceptions of VPS and Competing Airports Naming Packet Pg. 610 Perceptions of VPS and Competing Airports  VPS is known as a pleasant airport that is easy to navigate. While it is not an airport travelers go out of their way to visit, it does exceed expectations.  VPS has short lines, pleasant staff, and enough amenities to impress most visitors. The restaurant near the TSA checkpoint was mentioned by a number of travelers, as were the plentiful electrical outlets. Some respondents who regularly travel through VPS said they found the staff very accommodating and preferred to fly there if they could.  Like other small airports, VPS features shorter lines for checking in and going through the security checkpoint, shorter distances between gates and baggage claim, and easier rental car facilities. All of this combines to make VPS a very easy airport that is known for its quick “in-and-out.”  VPS visitors say they like flying into smaller airports, but that this is not a truly distinguishing factor for VPS because of the similarly small size of the competing airports in Pensacola and Panama City.  Travelers say VPS is clean and well maintained, and features the amenities they would expect from any airport – quality food options, stores that sell travel items, and plenty of electrical outlets. This is contrast to some other small airports.  However, the convenience factor of using a small airport does not distinguish VPS from its competition in the area, as the airports in both Panama City and Pensacola are also considered small.  While some VPS visitors had also flown into Pensacola or Panama City in the past, few had strong impressions of either airport. Some said they did find VPS to be more organized, cleaner, or more updated.  Travelers who had been through the airports in Pensacola or Panama City said the experience was not memorable. In general, travelers said the airports they remembered tended to be those they also try to avoid – large, complicated, and busy airports such as Chicago’s O’Hare or Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson.  While respondents were reluctant to draw strong comparisons between VPS and its local competition, a few did say they had taken note of the updates to VPS and the fact that it was generally better maintained and staffed. Packet Pg. 611 15 In Their Own Words “I don't remember it being this clean. It is a “All I know is that my sister suggested clean airport. And I am stuck here right now this [airport]. She suggested that, because of timing and stuff like that, so it is rather than fly into Panama City great that I can charge my phone.” proper, we fly into here. I don’t know if that one is a larger airport or if it is busier, but this seems to be a pretty “I like coming and going out of this airport. easy airport to get in and out of.” When I leave, security is easy. I don't have to wait a ton to get through the checkpoint. It is just so much more convenient. I just feel “The airports in those two locations like I am able to smoothly get through [Panama City and Pensacola] are security when I leave here.” almost identical to this one in how they look. The buildings, the parking, the process when you enter. So that is “It is rather clean. It looks very new, I think, not a factor.” and it is very modern looking. And actually, downstairs, some of the merchants and stuff – it is very attractive. It doesn’t look “I would like to fly into Panama City but like it is some backwater one that needs it is generally much more expensive.