Should Tallahassee airport change its structure in light of JetBlue blow?

The future of Tallahassee International Airport is once again stirring a debate on whether a change in governance is needed.

It was roughly five years ago when some business leaders and residents argued the airport should be under an independent authority, free from the city's oversight and grip. Many were divided and, eventually, public discussion died down after elected leaders felt the airport was on track toward robust economic regional impact, despite a recommendation to switch by the citizen-led airport advisory committee.

City officials still maintain the airport is an economic success story that now boasts a nearly $1 billion dollar annual economic impact. Yet, with JetBlue Airways' sudden decision to pull out of Tallahassee's market by late October, others ague now is the time to make a change.

Ryan Cohn, a partner and executive vice president at Sachs Media, is one of them. He was part of the original team of local professionals working the "Get Blue" campaign, an orchestrated effort to seal the deal with JetBlue as a new carrier in the capital city.

The campaign lasted about two years and it took another six or seven years for the New York-based, low-fare carrier to test the waters with a daily, nonstop flight from Tallahassee to Fort Lauderdale that launched in January. Seven months later, the airline announced its plans to eliminate the route due to a lack of demand.

"There was so much excitement a year ago when it was announced that JetBlue was coming to Tallahassee," Cohn said. "So then seven months later for them to pull out of the market so unexpectedly, it felt like a dagger in my heart."

Cohn sees the authority model as a better means of maximizing the airport's potential and impact, along with increasing its chances of adding more flight options. He said it makes sense for the city of Tallahassee to control the airport from an infrastructure standpoint, adding "the city is very good at running buildings and keeping infrastructure maintained and bringing in new infrastructure."

"I think, at this point, they've gotten those wins," he said, referring to the under-construction International Processing Facility that's slated to be completed later this year or early 2025. "It's now time to think of the airport more like a business ... It needs to be marketed. We need to be promoting those products or services, looking for new opportunities, new product lines and building new relationships.

"Now it's time for an independent entity to take it to that whole other level," he said.

City Manager Reese Goad on authority model: a 'question of the past'

Tallahassee City Manager Reese Goad sees no reason why the airport should make any significant governance changes, adding the idea of an authority model was a "question of the past."

It was thoroughly discussed, he said, several years ago. Goad said the airport is an economic driver for not only passenger travel but overall commerce. For example, year-over-year passenger travel was up more than 15.5%, according to a June report on total travel at the airport.

"We looked at the different kinds of structures that exist in the airport industry several years ago," Goad said. "We learned a lot. What we learned was about a third of the airports are private, a third are run directly by city governments, and about a third are authorities."

He said previous conversations were informative and more central toward the main goal of how the airport can reach its strategic goals.

"I feel really good that we have a good vision forward," Goad said. "The JetBlue announcement was nothing that we welcomed. Obviously, I'm unhappy about that. Everybody shared a similar sentiment because it was important to us."

Considering fluctuations in the aviation industry, Goad said JetBlue's decision doesn't "mark success or failure" — although some aviation experts and residents said the loss was a blow to the airport.

Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce weighs in on debate

Five years ago, the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce hosted a trip to Greenville, South Carolina, that included a tour of the city's airport.

The tour fueled discussions around a governance change considering, at the time, Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport was moving more than 118 million pounds of cargo and 2.3 million passengers — despite competing against four major airports within driving distance.

Fast forward to this year, as Tallahassee's airport approaches a $1 billion economic impact for the region, the Chamber is taking a measured stance in the resurfaced debate.

Chamber President and CEO Sue Dick said she hadn't heard much interest in exploring the authority model structure and the airport has undergone "proactive improvements" that have been driven by Tallahassee Aviation Director David Pollard, adding the airport is "a critical and valuable regional economic asset."

"The airport and available sites surrounding it provide the opportunity for companies to locate near a vital artery of our economic engine," said Dick, in a statement to the Tallahassee Democrat. "The Tallahassee Chamber has historically supported exploring governance models for the airport that best position our community for air service and economic development opportunities.”

Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at [email protected] and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: JetBlue exit at TLH triggers airport authority debate in Tallahassee