Latest / Rick Outzen: (we don’t) color on the dog / Cleared for Takeoff: Airport Director Matt Coughlin
Transcript
- Rick Outzen: And this is Rick's Blog Live. You can follow me just about anywhere. YouTube, We Don't Color on the Dog. Like and subscribe. blog, ricksblog.biz, nweekly.net, and of course, here, this is the part of the in-weekly media empire. ⁓ Thank for watching. ⁓ The Pensacola International Airport, is probably one of the hottest between New Orleans Jacksonville. We've got the airport director, Matt Coughlin, with us. Matt, thank you for joining me. Thank you. Matt Coughlin: For having me, Rick. Appreciate it. Rick Outzen: So you've you've been with the airport as director since twenty twenty. How in this don't ⁓ we can't you an hour, but how much has it changed ⁓ and where it stand today from where it was, you know, six years ago? Matt Coughlin: It's changed a lot and and it's really had to change just due to the numbers to the growth. And where it hasn't changed is really in the large infrastructure and that's what we're attacking now. You we we went through a pandemic which was a a lot dynamics played out there obviously, ⁓ but what we was we recovered from that really quick and it's just it's challenging, but we have a lot infrastructure to build and we are we're already building it. Rick Outzen: Well what a a a hundred and sixty five million dollar project? Or is it is the numbers keeps growing a little y Matt Coughlin: Yeah, in in the hundred and sixty five to clarify, you know, just to break that up, that's for the entire modernization program of our terminal area and the concourse. and other parts of that too that you don't necessarily think about, like the ramp, the aircraft ramp. Very expensive and ⁓ plays into it too. Rick Outzen: Well kinda where are we right now in the process? I know money's been coming in, there's been some design work done. What's where does it stand? Matt Coughlin: So we're at a milestone right now on design. So we're at a hundred percent. we have what we call the delivery model is construction manager at risk program. And ⁓ on eleventh ⁓ this we get what we call the guaranteed maximum price. And that's gonna gonna start the ball rolling. we're already moving forward the ramp construction wise. We just received a lot of grants. You'll see it on the city council next week the tune of thirty seven million dollars. but ramp's gonna be the first part and that's gonna start here in the next few weeks. Rick Outzen: Completion is still twenty twenty eight. Matt Coughlin: I expect two years. that could change a little bit. part of this hundred percent design is we're gonna have a very refined schedule at that point. And so guaranteed price is a very important milestone ⁓ and we'll go there. Rick Outzen: What will people coming and going from the airport, what they gonna experience during the construction? How how will it impact them? Matt Coughlin: Great question. so our is that it won't impact them at all. Right. But it is. We we know it will, just practically speaking. So where it might impact a little bit is parking, ⁓ because believe or not, we're gonna be constrained a little bit more with parking because currently we have to move all our employees to different lots, which is gonna shrink the parking population down for our users. So that might be a little bit of a issue. and then on top of that, the one of the first parts of the project is the baggage handling system. We don't expect to see any issues as long as those bags are flowing and we'll do everything in our power to make that happen. You're gonna see lot of partition walls, a lot of signs, ⁓ maybe a little of noise, but other than that, it we're gonna try to keep it as seamless as possible. Rick Outzen: will it be l ⁓ you know will the TSA area become larger and then gateways both ways off of that? Is that how Matt Coughlin: Exactly. So what'll happen today you come into the checkpoint and you're basically facing center airfield when you come through the checkpoint. all gonna turn ninety degrees and double in footprint size wise. Once come out of security checkpoint, a lot of glass, overlooking the airfield, very beautiful, and then gonna be faced with a choice. I'm either going to the current concourse, concourse A, or what we call in the future concourse B, the new concourse. Rick Outzen: Yeah, terminal the work there is critical because we know ⁓ who's flown in and out of there have seen just the massive growth ⁓ people going through there. But the other part that's happening at the airport that comes under U2 is T aerospace. And we are taking part of the airport that was sort of dead space and buying some of residential lots that were around ⁓ and we've been building these Fres T. It looks like that third one looks pretty close to being ready. Matt Coughlin: It is. It's the building's actually complete. We're now building the infrastructure, the ramp area up to it. expect to be occupying that and going full production in January. So the building's ready. next to it we've already started construction on hangar number four, which will be a a little bit version, but that has already started. And if you drive up there today, you'll see some of that groundwork being being worked on. Rick Outzen: Have they moved their leadership team over here yet? Or is that no, they were taken from mobile, they were gonna move some of their leadership over here. I Matt Coughlin: Yes, I believe so. Matter of fact, I think they're curtailing their operation over mobile. Rick Outzen: Okay. Well, for them. But I it's so I mean it's such a different dynamic because this been a long-range project. It began, you know, gosh, ⁓ Mayor Ashton Hayward in the early part of his first term, the conversation started having ⁓ having him then, ⁓ then it's just each time. Pensacola State College has got educ training facility coming in, they'll be a part of it. you know, it it really is it become even i i just being airport is an economic impact, but what ST does mult is a huge multiplier. The other thing happening, Matt, I've noticed is is that Breeze Airways keep ⁓ more direct flights. keep you know, the airport itself does. what routes are you working on now? We'll bring up Vegas in a minute. But the ⁓ that'll be the signal that we're getting close to the end of the interview. But what else are y'all going after now? Sure. Matt Coughlin: So we're actually going after other airlines too. there's a couple out there that we'd like to ⁓ partner with. and what it does at the end of the day, it gives our traveler just more choice in our travel require ⁓ needs. Breeze has a great partner. I like to say we love all our children when it comes to airlines equally. we have seven partners and today we're doing 28 nonstop destinations, which is great. when it comes to Breeze in particular. They started here not even two years ago with had two nonstops to Tampa a week. Right. they're up over thirty now, thirty And they've added to their portfolio. ⁓ We look partner with them in the future. currently if you at our route map where there's a void is out west. So we have underserved markets that we're really trying to exploit. ⁓ I will tell that fuel has kind of us a little bit. The price of fuel has really changed some of the decision calculus on behalf of the airlines, but conversations pick Rick Outzen: All right, so we we gotta wrap up. Tell me where we are with Vegas. one route that I know there's a demand. Matt Coughlin: We have to do with that because we close but fuel had kind of curtailed that for a little bit. But we're gonna we're gonna pursue that. That's number one underserved market for Pensacola, believe it not. And so there's a different airlines at that. We just gotta be able to pull it. Rick Outzen: Okay, well Matt, thank you for coming on. It's been a great hat. Thank you. I appreciate it. I I found this in the back of my car. right, we're gonna we're gonna go ahead and take a break. ⁓ Rick Outson. We're Rick's Blog Live. Please stay with me. Matt Coughlin: Mm-hmm.