vlue 4 1t uarter 2014 rbert m all ecutie irectr · abu dhabi, the hub of etihad airways, airberlin...

e-LinkVolume 4, 1st Quarter, 2014

e-Link is a quarterly newsletter for our tenants, vendors and business partners to stay linked in with the projects, accomplishments and development at Southwest Florida International Airport and Page Field.

Robert M. Ball, A.A.E., Executive Director

January 2014

¾ The Lee County Board of Port Commissioners elected Larry Kiker as chair and Brian Hamman as vice chair for 2014 during its first meeting on Jan. 13.

¾ From Jan. 15 through March 6, 2014, three seahorses from the A Seahorse Dream project were on display at Southwest Florida International Airport as part of the airport’s Art in Flight program. The pieces, decorated by local artists, were created as part of a gala event to benefit the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. The three seahorses at RSW were: Celebrity by Leoma Lovegrove, Miss Bliss by Karen Flanders and Mer Queen by Ginny Dickinson.

¾ The Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting (ARFF) Station at Southwest Florida International Airport has earned the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council and Green Building Certification Institute. The new fire station opened in June 2013 and is one of a few projects in Lee County to achieve this LEED designation and the first public/government building to receive the gold-level rating for sustainable design and construction.

¾ The Transportation Security Administration is now offering its TSA Pre™ program to RSW passengers at all three concourse checkpoints. Passenger wait times have decreased compared to last year due to the implementation of this program. TSA Pre™ allows low-risk travelers to experience faster, more efficient screening at participating U.S. airport checkpoints for domestic and international travel.

February 2014

¾ Page Field hosted the Collings Foundation “Wings of Freedom” Tour from Feb. 1 to 2 on the ramp at Base Operations. The foundation displayed their North American Dual Control P-51C Mustang “Betty Jane” fighter, B-24J Liberator “Witchcraft” heavy bomber and B-17G Flying Fortress “Nine-O-Nine.”



¾ During the month of February, 862,899 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport, an increase of 4.3 percent compared to last year. Year-to-date, passenger traffic was up 3.7 percent from the same period last year. In spite of 223 flight cancellations in February at RSW due to weather conditions throughout the U.S., Southwest Florida International Airport experienced the best February in our 31-year history.

¾ The Lee County Port Authority has once again been recognized by the American Heart Association as a Gold Fit Friendly company. To be considered for this designation, worksites must fulfill criteria such as offering employees physical activity support, providing options for healthy eating at work and promoting a wellness culture. LCPA also recently was awarded the Florida Fit Friendly Company Award for Worksite Wellness by the Florida Department of Health. The Office of the State Surgeon General recognized LCPA’s efforts in encouraging and educating employees about a healthy lifestyle.

¾ Randy Krise, CCIM was appointed to the Lee County Port Authority Airports Special Management Committee by Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman. Krise has more than 34 years of experience in commercial real estate and is a broker and owner of Krise Commercial Group, LLC in Fort Myers. He holds the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation and is currently the 2014 president-elect for the CCIM Florida Chapter.

¾ The EAA Airventure Museum brought their 1929 Ford Tri-Motor to Page Field from Feb. 6 to 9. This unique aircraft is the world’s first mass-produced airline and features three radial-piston engines.

March 2014

¾ Frontier Airlines announced three weekly nonstop flights between Southwest Florida International Airport and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport starting Friday, June 13, 2014. This is the first time Frontier will offer service between RSW and CLE.

¾ Page field hosted the Commemorative Air Force AirPower History Tour on March 6. Five historic military aircraft were on display for public viewing and rides, including the last flying B-29 bomber in existence, “FIFI.” The tour also included the SB2C Hell Diver, C-45 Expediter “Bucket of Bolts,” Model 4 Stearman Speedmail and Boeing Stearman.

¾ Page Field has officially been designated as a gateway airport for direct general aviation flight operations into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C.



¾ During the month of March, 1,147,059 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport, an increase of 2.8 percent compared to last year. This marks the highest single month for passenger traffic in the airport’s 31-year history. Year-to-date, passenger traffic was up 3.3 percent from the same period last year, resulting in the airport's best first quarter as well.

Thank you to our airline partners, the Transportation Security Administration, Lee County Visitor Services volunteers, rental car companies, Standard Parking, food & beverage and retail concessionaires and Lee County Port Authority staff for working together to make this winter season so successful.

Meet airberlin @ RSW

This April marks an important event at Southwest Florida International Airport. We will celebrate 20 years of nonstop service to Dusseldorf, Germany (DUS) with our airline partner airberlin, Germany’s second largest air carrier. We sat down with Nelly Castañeda, regional manager for RSW and MIA for the airberlin group, to talk about this significant milestone.

Castañeda was proud to point out, “Year-round service between RSW and DUS has been continuous since starting on April 7, 1994. We are currently the only carrier at RSW offering nonstop service to Europe.” This winter, airberlin increased its service to four weekly flights. She said, “The additional frequency truly shows the strength of this market and that Fort Myers continues to be an important destination in the airberlin route network.”

airberlin (Continued on Page 4)



At Southwest Florida International Airport, most of airberlin’s dedicated 16-member team has been working together for more than 11 years. “Since Southwest Florida is a popular destination for German visitors and homeowners, our German staff at the airport is much larger than any other airberlin station in the U.S.,” Castañeda says. This is appreciated by their passengers or guests who come from Sarasota to Marco Island, many of whom are frequent flyers and known to the long-time staff. Her team greets customers by name and they strive continually to give each passenger a full-service experience from ticketing to time spent onboard. It is also not unusual for airberlin passengers at RSW to travel with their family pets. Castañeda says, “We actually have pets that are frequent flyers. We have seen them grow up and travel from the time they were puppies.” Nelly also appreciates the ease of using our Customs & Border Protection facility. Castañeda said, “Another difference about Fort Myers is the customs operation. It is a nice place to be, very organized and efficient and this makes it a positive customer experience.”

At the airport, Gate B-1 is home to our airberlin flights. Seeing the aircraft from inside the concourse is a thing of beauty and from the outside, visitors to the airport can get a glimpse of the large signature red and white A330-200 aircraft as they approach the terminal. airberlin is also the only carrier at RSW with a passenger lounge, an appreciated amenity for their guests.

airberlin constantly strives to improve the travel experience for both business and leisure passengers. The new airberlin business class configuration offers even more privacy with mostly single seating and provides direct access to the aisle from every seat. The new business class seats with massage function can be completely reclined into lie-flat beds ensuring the passenger maximum comfort on long-haul flights. Additional passenger upgrades will include onboard Wi-Fi.

Currently, airberlin is the seventh largest European carrier with main hubs in Berlin and Dusseldorf. The airline carried more than 31.5 million passengers in 2013 and flies to 147 nonstop destinations worldwide, including service to five U.S. cities - Fort Myers, Miami, JFK, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Since 2011, airberlin depends on collaboration with its strategic partner, Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates. The combined route network of Etihad and airberlin covers 227 destinations in 83 countries. Via Abu Dhabi, the hub of Etihad Airways, airberlin customers have connecting opportunities to other Arab countries, Asia, Australia and, just added, India.

In 2012, airberlin became a full member of the oneworld® alliance and values its partnership with the alliance airlines, such as American Airlines. This not only helps with the company’s goal of strengthening its international network and

airberlin passenger lounge at RSW

Nelly Castañeda (center) and the airberlin team at RSW

airberlin (Continued from Page 3)

airberlin (Continued on Page 5)



working with some of the world's leading airlines, but also offers frequent flyers a superior level of service and seamless travel around the world through codeshare opportunities. In the U.S., airberlin guests can take advantage of the codeshare partnership with American Airlines to travel to 60 cities in North America.

airberlin continues to move up in the premier league of international air carriers, setting standards in the industry and winning over business and individual travelers with its award-winning services including accolades as Airliner of the Year and numerous environmental awards.

Here at RSW, airberlin served 75,592 passengers in 2013, 3.7 percent more than the previous year. But, airberlin carries more than just people! In 2013, they moved more than 6.1 million pounds of air freight into and out of Fort Myers. Not only do they transport nearly 19 percent of RSW’s air cargo, but they carry some interesting products. On most flights leaving RSW, hatching eggs carefully transported across Alligator Alley, are flown to Dusseldorf and ultimately end up in Ukraine.

We are so glad airberlin and its local team has a home here in Fort Myers and that customers can travel conveniently to Germany or anywhere in the world through their hubs and international network.

airberlin (Continued from Page 4)

The airberlin team next to their Airbus A330-200 on the ramp at RSW.

vlue 4 1t uarter 2014 rbert m all ecutie irectr · abu dhabi, the hub of etihad airways, airberlin...

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