“Fly Easy”— the motto of the Gainesville Regional Airport fits with the airport’s experience for its travelers. Unlike the frantic and hectic environment of other big airports that surround the Gainesville community — Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa — the GNV airport offers its passengers an ease of travel that other airports cannot rival. Now with its upcoming new terminal and plans for even more expansion in the future, the GNV airport is poised to grow in parallel with the greater Gainesville community.
A $12 million grant is funding a 15,200 square foot, two-gate passenger terminal expansion and improvement project for the airport, located on the northeast side of Gainesville and 15 minutes from the University of Florida. Currently, the airport has 16 daily departures with non-stop service to Atlanta from Delta Airlines and to Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth and Miami from American Airlines.
The new expansion will include two additional gates, a pet relief area, a lactation lounge, a chapel/reflection room and a play area for children. Overall renovations of the airport will also be addressed, including an expanded restroom area, conveniences like more portable charging stations in passenger seating areas and a second food and beverage area. The airport is now beginning to discuss and work with possible food vendors.
“We are completing upgrades all over the airport to make the airport a more welcoming and inviting front door to the community,” said GNV CEO Allan Penska. “That is how we see our airport. If we can welcome visitors to this community in the right way, they are more likely to come back and stay.”
The Gainesville airport has increasingly become more of a draw for local travelers. Price differences between the regional airport and other bigger airports close to the area are competitive especially when coupled with price for gas, tolls and mileage on your vehicle.
“I am not sure why there is a reason to leave Gainesville to fly somewhere,” Penska said. “We have a legion of loyal customers who do not feel there is an economic reason to choose another airport. When you consider miles, tolls, gas, parking or even lodging, it’s almost double the fees. We also have a low stress environment where other airports are more frantic and busier.”
Sarah Motto concurs that the Gainesville airport provides a low-stress environment worth any small price upgrade.
“The two nearest large airports require traveling 2-3 hours by car or bus so paying a slightly higher fare if you are coming or leaving Gainesville is the best option,” Motto said. “To offset the extra cost of using this hometown airport you will find genuinely nice and friendly people that will be happy to help you in any way that they can. Overall, I have always had stress free experiences when traveling to and from this airport.”
A UF research project studying people’s attitudes and perceptions about GNV versus larger airports were more friendly and positive. When asked about words they associate with their experience with larger airports they cited things like lines, stress, late, frustrated, panicky, noisy, lost, wait, delays, angry or nervous. When asked about words they associate with their Gainesville airport experience, they cited words like fast, smaller, calmer, quiet, functional, easy, quick, warm-hearted, casual, convenient, relaxing, nice, and peaceful.
“Our airport’s friendly and local TSA workers in an expanded screening area make security a quick and seamless process. Our parking accommodations make it easily a five-minute walk from parking spot to security. You are then at your gate moments later and can relax before your flight,” Penska said.
Local traveler Chad Filkins agrees.
“Easy coming and going with great staff that provide personal care —you’re not just a number here,” Filkins said. “TSA generally is quick even though there is only one lane. The staff for TSA are definitely top-notch friendly, helping get [you] through faster, usually with a smile.”
Pre-Covid, GNV’s air traffic was at record levels and enplanements doubled since 2004 which outperformed FSA’s terminal area forecast. As the community continues to grow, expansion is necessary to meet the needs of the community. The two new gates will allow for bigger aircrafts and possible expansion of flight offerings and guests. Officials at the airport are constantly talking to airlines to attract them to the GNV airport. Hopes for the future include nonstop flights to Chicago, Washington D.C. and New York City.
“An airline’s decision to fly to a destination is based on many factors including size of a metropolitan area, business activity in the area, employment and whether it is a leisure or business destination. Gainesville is not a resort town or at the beach. We have 133,000 people living here and 55,000 of them are students,” Penska said. “Considering those facts, we are very lucky to have the two largest legacy carriers, American Airlines and Delta, providing nonstop service to some of the nation’s biggest hubs.”
Other future plans include a covered parking garage, expanded airline offices and other upgrades for customer convenience. Admittedly, some of these plans have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the travel and tourism industry more than any other.
“The pandemic has certainly rocked our industry, but we are seeing more signs of life,” Penska said. “We hope to get to 70% of pre-COVID levels by the end of the year. We have a lot of business folks who are comfortable again with travel.”
Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Penska knows that expanded air travel and an upgraded airport is better for the community at large. But it’s the partnership between various members of the community that will ensure this growth.
“I am hopeful for the future. Growth begets growth. As a community we need to continue to invest in creating high paying jobs which takes all of us, including county governments and entities and chambers of commerce to support UF and other large employers in the work they do,” Penska said. “We need to invest in infrastructure. The airport itself cannot generate travel, but we can help support large institutions in bringing people to our area. We should maximize opportunities to drive the great economic engine of the university. Lower fares and more flights from more airlines will make it appealing for people to travel here for high-quality jobs.”