Airport officials concede that Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport may never convince foreign carriers to fly here.
Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport is international in name only.
Despite 20 years of affixing the word to its logo and some small success in attracting Canadian flights - especially during winter tourist season - service is almost exclusively domestic.
Moreover, no tangible foreign prospects appear to be on the horizon - especially now that the official charged with luring international flights has left and may not be replaced.
That lack of success has not been for lack of trying. The airport has spent millions of dollars on physical improvements, marketing campaigns and sales pitches.
But even airport officials now concede that Sarasota-Bradenton might never be able to convince foreign carriers to fly here.
"I came in (to the airport authority) four years ago with the mindset that we had to get this done," Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority board member and prominent homebuilder Carlos Beruff said of the lack of international flights.
"But the truth is, the airlines are very sophisticated," added Beruff, who aggressively pushed for change at State College of Florida as board chairman. "It's a tumultuous business."
Compounding that idea, Sarasota-Bradenton suffers from its tertiary location, between two larger airports - Tampa International and the Southwest Florida International Airport, in Fort Myers - that are better equipped to handle international flights.
Even so, airport executives point to connecting flights to Sarasota-Bradenton as evidence that Southwest Florida does attract a share of international travelers. About 100,000 international passengers annually, or about 12 percent of the airport's total traffic, fly in or out of Sarasota-Bradenton.
"The airport has a significant amount of international service that connects through the hubs served by Delta in Atlanta, USAirways in Charlotte, and now United in Chicago," said Fredrick "Rick" Piccolo, the airport's chief executive. "JetBlue serves JFK, in New York, which is a major international hub."
Flight of the Condor
The last major push to attract a foreign carrier that would serve the airport direct occurred in 2010, when the airport sought to bring in Germany's Condor Air.
After months of negotiations and trips to Europe, though, the carrier passed, saying it had "reservations" about Sarasota-Bradenton's facilities and its ability to generate sufficient profits.
Michael Boyd, an airline consultant, said the airport suffers, too, because foreign travelers do not target specific cities during Sunshine State travels.
"Visitors from overseas don't care about Sarasota, Fort Myers or Tampa, they just want to get to Florida," said Boyd, chairman of Boyd Group International, a Colorado-based firm that has worked with Sarasota-Bradenton.
Many more are coming.
In Sarasota County, international traffic was up 24 percent in 2012, compared with 2010, according to Visit Sarasota County, the area's tourism agency.
International tourism is significant because those travelers are more profitable for carriers and tend to spend more money about 40 percent more - upon arriving in their destinations, experts say.
Most foreign visitors now use Orlando, Tampa or Fort Myers as gateways to Southwest Florida.
"It's hard to compete with Central Florida and the worldwide appeal of the theme parks there," Boyd said.
Sarasota-Bradenton gained the ability to draw international flights in 1992, when the airport paid for U.S. Customs agents and equipment to process foreign travelers.
Since then, though, international flights have been limited largely to second-tier carriers such as CanJet Airline, Canada3000 and Air Canada, and some smaller carriers with Caribbean island connections.
CanJet, which flew into Sarasota-Bradenton weekly from 2003 until 2007, brought in 8,000 to 10,000 passengers annually. In all, the airport draws roughly 1.2 million passengers each year.
To try to lure more international passengers, Sarasota-Bradenton has undertaken physical improvements and even devoted an upper-level staffer to the job of adding international flights.
But there has been little to show for it.
Michael Walley, former director of development and community relations for the airport, resigned in January.
Walley spent a decade and approaching $1 million trying - largely without success - to land foreign flights.
Physically, the airport's Customs facility has undergone a roughly $8 million upgrade, but it has struggled to stay staffed because of a lack of foreign flights, Boyd said.
Customs was not the only multimillion- dollar upgrade, either. In 2001, the airport spent roughly $15 million, much of it federal money, to extend the airport's main runway to accommodate larger, internationally based aircraft.
Traveling the world
In the wake of Walley's departure, questions have arisen over whether the airport should steer clear of seeking international flights.
Walley, who was most recently paid $113,119 annually, sometimes stayed in swanky tropical resorts and flew first class while criss-crossing the globe to attend trade shows and meet with airline executives, records show.
Expense reports filed during the last five years - the only records available under state law - show Walley spent around $300,000 between 2008 and 2012, and airport board meeting minutes show he likely traveled as much or more - as would be expected - early in his tenure at the airport.
In July 2008, Walley spent more than $3,400 for a two-night stay in Dublin, Ireland, to meet with Ryanair airline executives. He spent another $8,470 that January, during a 10-day stay split between Amsterdam and Dublin.
Ryanair never committed to coming to Sarasota-Bradenton.
In February 2012, Walley stayed in the luxurious Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, a trip that cost $1,981 for two nights, to attend a conference at the resort.
Airport officials, meanwhile, defend Walley's travel.
"Going to visit an airline at its headquarters and attending conferences is part of the cost of doing business," said Piccolo, who was Walley's boss.
"Airlines hear from airports in 200 cities across the world. It's our responsibility to keep them aware of new initiatives going on in Sarasota, and what might be happening here that would draw more traffic."
The hope of luring the 2017 World Rowing Championships to Nathan Benderson Park and the Baltimore Orioles' spring training shift to Sarasota are two examples of tourism-driven information Walley would communicate, Piccolo said.
Walley's exit from the airport apparently had little to do with his travel schedule or his lack of results. Piccolo said Walley resigned after making a "grave error." He declined to provide specifics.
Walley said he resigned after noticing that his iPad and iPhone had been scrubbed while on a business trip to Baltimore.
"I decided I just couldn't work under those kinds of circumstances," he said.
Walley has since formed his own marketing firm - the 9400 Group, based in Bradenton. The firm specializes in marketing services to tourism development bureaus and airports worldwide.
Walley was credited with helping to bring a United Airways flight here from Chicago, and extending JetBlue service following the loss of AirTran Airways in August 2012.
But Piccolo noted that Walley did not land the flights single-handedly.
"I would not attribute any new service to a single individual," Piccolo said. "The withdrawal of AirTran ultimately made Sarasota very attractive to United because their hub in Chicago and AirTran was previously flying two to three daily nonstops to Chicago."
Meanwhile, many airports are rethinking having someone on staff whose sole job is to woo new carriers. In many areas, the role is being altered to reflect the new industry reality.
Daytona Beach International Airport, for instance, which is comparable to Sarasota-Bradenton, stopped sending employees overseas on development missions more than a decade ago, spokesman Stephen Cooke said.
"We don't have anyone in the airport that's beating the bushes internationally anymore," Cooke said. "Since the downturn of the market, we've had to focus our efforts domestically."
That may soon extend to Sarasota-Bradenton, as well. Piccolo said he is not certain he will fill Walley's job.
Jack Rynerson, another member of the airport authority, said, "We'll evaluate if another person needs to come on board after Piccolo takes the lead for a while."
Still, Piccolo contends that Sarasota-Bradenton is poised to capture significant international business as economies worldwide rebound.
"As long as the economy does not slide back, I believe the future growth of international visitation to the area and the airport will grow, especially given the development of international sport venues like the rowing facility, soccer at Premier Sports facility in Lakewood Ranch and the growth of the IMG Academy," he said.
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