Easy come, easy
go…
Daytona Beach International Airport scores with sales, service,
convenience
While passenger
traffic continues to be the barometer by which major airports gauge their
progress, the most successful airports are engaged in a wide variety of
activities that make them vital to their host communities. Such is the
case with Daytona Beach International Airport.
If the beach is the
cornerstone of the tourism industry in this region, Daytona Beach
International Airport is the region's economic engine, driving an economy
that has become more dynamic.
This thought was not
lost on Volusia County Manager Cindy Coto when she was selected to lead
the government of this rapidly growing county. "While evaluating and
reengineering our economic development efforts, the role of Daytona Beach
International Airport took on added significance," said Coto. "Its
importance cannot be overstated and its potential drove the decision to
make Daytona Beach International Airport the location of our Department of
Economic Development."
Daytona
Beach International Airport (DBIA) passenger traffic has been on a steady
upswing for years and air service has held steady through the ups and
downs of the volatile airline industry. Today, passengers can fly nonstop
to Atlanta, New York (Newark) and Cincinnati, with connecting service to
hundreds of other cities here and abroad. Delta Air Lines and Continental
Airlines provide the most flights, with Vintage Props & Jets offering
additional flights including daily runs to the Bahamas.
DBIA is a
state-of-the-art airport in every way, but it's the convenience that
passengers love. "I can park at noon and be through security and at my
gate in 15 minutes," said Mike Jiloty, a local businessman, who gives DBIA
high marks. "I simply refuse to spend two hours battling traffic to get to
the Orlando or Jacksonville airports, struggling to park and then being
greeted by long lines just to get through security and to the gate."
DBIA passengers
enjoy an open and airy environment. Its gift shop gets high marks from
travelers and locals. DBIA!s food court includes Subway sandwiches,
Nathan's Hot Dogs, Java Coast Coffee Shop, Buckhead Grill and Ben &
Jerry's Ice Cream. Even the security area has been restructured to enhance
the flow of passengers and the efficiency of the screening process.
Airport officials
have added other conveniences, having made the complex a wireless
"hotspot" which gives travelers unfettered access to the Internet and
email at no charge. They also offer an innovative mail-back program
wherein items that do not clear security (mostly items such as scissors
and other objects prohibited under security guidelines) are mailed back to
passengers free.
All this makes
flying in and out of DBIA an experience appreciated by business and
leisure travelers. But the airport's impact outside the terminal building
is equally impressive.
The success of DBIA
has attracted several excellent hotels to the airport, including Hampton
Inn, Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn. Soon a Residence Inn
will be added. Restaurants such as Cancun Lagoon and Olive Garden serve
locals and visitors, many of whom are DBIA passengers.
Of
course, DBIA is critical to the area's growing meeting, convention, and
trade show facilities such as the Ocean Center–Volusia's meeting,
convention and sports complex. Hilton Daytona Beach/Ocean Walk Village,
Ocean Walk Resort and other hotels catering to the meeting and convention
traveler consider DBIA a vital resource, especially as these entities
compete for bigger and more sophisticated business travelers.
Not all air
passengers arrive on scheduled airlines, as is evidenced by the fact that
the Daytona Beach Jet Center and Yelvington Jet Aviation are busy every
day receiving private and corporate aircraft. "It's the best of both
worlds," said Dean Marchetti, who oversees the Daytona Beach Jet Center.
"They enjoy a sophisticated major airport and come and go with the
greatest of ease and give the complex high marks. And these are people who
see a lot of airports, and they are not impressed easily."
DBIA is also the
home of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's flight line on the eastern
edge of the complex. A gallery of sleek university offices, classrooms and
dormitories provides a handsome backdrop for the school's fleet of single
and twin-engine aircraft.
The university also
recognizes the role of the airport as a hub of economic development
activity. It is planning a technology business park adjacent to the
airport and expects to attract research and development units of leading
aviation and aerospace companies to land at the site.
Add to this the fact
that Daytona International Speedway, the World Center of Racing, also
borders DBIA. The Speedway attracts many of the world's leading automotive
executives every year. It is easy to see why many companies in the area
have become preferred manufacturers for the automotive sector.
Medical
manufacturers also have gained critical mass in the area, with that
industry accounting for approximately 25 percent of the region's
manufacturing workforce. Easy travel to and from the area is important to
executives of these companies, whose products are used across the nation
and around the world. "Whether I am sending people to major trade shows or
welcoming our clients to our plant, DBIA makes travel so much more
pleasant," said David Slick Sr., president of Command Medical Products.
"We get many compliments from our clients who fly into DBIA.”
But in addition to
the attraction of the region among medical, aviation, aerospace and
automotive manufacturers, DBIA is an important resource to any company
whose executives and customers need to come and go. This includes service
businesses such as Brown & Brown, Inc., one of the nation’s largest
insurance companies, with offices throughout the country.
All this makes DBIA
an essential part of the area’s appeal among visitors, business people,
and area residents. “As such, it is an important part of our economic
development program," said Rick Michael, Director of Volusia County's
Department of Economic Development. "It is safe to say the importance of
DBIA to this and the entire region cannot be overstated."
