The inaugural flight of Air France's new service into Orlando landed at Orlando International Airport last week. Dignitaries arriving from Charles de Gaulle Airport on the airline's first-ever direct flight from Paris to Orlando were greeted with the water salute traditionally reserved for such momentous occasions. They were also greeted by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, GOAA Chairman Cesar Calvet, and an enthusiastic group of local business people, many of them with ties to international markets.

Direct flights between major international cities are a proven catalyst for business between those markets. Leveraging the potential of this enhanced connection with France was the goal of a special event planned for Patrick Roux, Air France's Senior Vice President for the Americas, and the delegation that accompanied him this week. A breakfast gathering jointly hosted by the Metro Orlando EDC and Visit Orlando provided an opportunity to introduce the airline's top executives to the depth and breadth of the Central Florida economy. Local luminaries helping to introduce attendees to our market included Pierre Brousset, CEO of Hubbard Construction, which is this region's largest French company; Thad Seymour, SVP of Life Sciences for Lake Nona, who shared the region's 'medical city' story; and Alex Martins, president of the Orlando Magic, who welcomed the Air France delegation with personalized Orlando Magic team jerseys.

The new Air France service will operate three times per week between Charles de Gaulle Airport and Orlando International Airport (MCO), using 777-300 aircraft with 472 seats. The EDC worked closely with our partners at the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and Visit Orlando to promote the addition of this direct service. France is already one of our state's leading trade partners. Increased access will allow the EDC and our community partners to aggressively pursue new business relationships and increased visitation between "The City of Lights" and "The City Beautiful".

The Air France Paris-to-Orlando service marks the 25th international non-stop destination served from MCO.

The world's second oldest Airline - Avianca, a member of the Avianca/TACA Alliance - has announced plans to initiate direct, non-stop service between Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Bogota International Airport (BOG). Beginning this summer, the new service will connect the two destinations with service four times per week.

This expanded service is good for both business and tourist travel between our markets. Approximately 70,500 Colombian's live in the Central Florida area. With service now available on Avianca, passengers will have access to numerous Central and South American markets including Caracas, Lima, Quito, Guayaquil, Sao Paulo, Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires, Cali, Cartagena, and Medellin.

Avainca is one of four airlines who have recently announced that they will initiate operations at Orlando International Airport this summer. The others are Air France, Caribbean Airlines, and Edelweiss Air. Altogether this increased international traffic brings with it an estimated local economic impact of nearly $90 million.

Orlando International Airport has more non-stop domestic service than any other airport in Florida and offers service to 25 non-stop international destinations.

Direct flights between major international cities are a proven catalyst for business between those markets. That is why it was good news for our local economy when Air France recently announced plans to initiate non-stop service from Paris to Orlando. The service will operate three times per week between Charles de Gaulle Airport and Orlando International Airport (MCO), using 777-300 aircraft with 472 seats. The inaugural flight is scheduled for June 8, 2011.

The EDC worked closely with our partners at the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau to promote the addition of this direct service. France is already one of our state's leading trade partners. Increased access will allow the EDC and our community partners to aggressively pursue new business relationships and increased visitation between "The City of Lights" and "The City Beautiful".

The Air France Paris-to-Orlando service marks the 25th international non-stop destination served from MCO.

This week, Orlando-headquartered AirTran Airways hosted the grand opening of their new System Operations Control (SOC) Center at Orlando International Airport. This 16,000-square-foot, $6.9 million, state-of-the-art command center serves as the 24-hour nerve center for the entire airline, which manages over 700 flights per day.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty were on hand to help Bob Fornaro, Chairman, President and CEO of AirTran Airways, officially open the new building. In his remarks, Fornaro announced plans to also open a pilot base in Orlando, which is expected to create 100 new jobs in Orlando this fall.

"The opening of our new SOC and announcement of an Orlando pilot base are both significant signs of our plans to continue to grow here in our hometown," said Fornaro. "We are fortunate to be part of the fabric of Central Florida and look forward to continuing to increase our presence here both today and well into the future."

The company employs more than 1,000 crew members in Central Florida at several facilities, including its corporate headquarters, the SOC and a maintenance facility, in addition to its passenger operations at the airport.

After considering putting the SOC Center in Atlanta, where AirTran has its hub, the decision was made to expand the facility here, adjacent to AirTran's headquarters.
Together with the City of Orlando, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, Enterprise Florida and the State of Florida, the EDC worked closely with AirTran to ensure the SOC Center remained in Central Florida.

Things at Orlando Sanford International Airport are taking off, in more ways than one.

The Father's Table, a dessert manufacturer based in Sanford, announced that it will expand into an 118,000-square-foot facility near the airport. The growing company will make apple dumplings and swiss cake rolls at this location, while maintaining their cheesecake business in their original location. The expansion will create 30 new full-time and 20 seasonal jobs and is expected to generate over $2.5 million in capital investment. Success for this company is particularly sweet, as they donate a percentage of profits to The Father's Table Foundation, which helps to fund women's & children's charities worldwide.

Miami-based Avocet and sister company Aircraft Parts Sales, Inc. also recently announced that they will relocate their headquarters to OSIA. The company - which provides aviation repair and maintenance, tear down services and sales of aircraft parts - will occupy temporary space on airport property while a new 44,000-square-foot hanger is being built. Avocet's anticipated capital investment is more than $5 million. The EDC and Seminole Community College are currently working to help the company secure a Quick Response Training Grant, which will help them hire and train 150 new employees, primarily mechanics who will earn an average of over $45,000 annually.

Seminole's Board of County Commissioners has focused on the airport as a top economic development priority. That focus appears to be paying dividends. According to Maria Arellano, Avocet general manager: "We were being recruited by other locations in and outside of Florida. Orlando Sanford Airport was extremely accommodating in meeting the needs of our company and this played a big part in why we choose Metro Orlando for our new home."

Economic development that results in new job creation is the key to economic recovery. Thus, now more than ever, the EDC is pleased to share two of our most recent economic development success stories resulting in new jobs:

124 New Jobs: Seminole County-headquartered Nomad Aviation Inc., one of the world's best-known avionics specialists for commercial, military and civilian aircraft, has announced that they will double their workforce here, adding 124 new positions over the next 2 years. To accommodate this expanded workforce, the company will add 33,000-square-feet to its existing facility, which is based at Orlando Sanford International Airport. They also anticipate capital investment of $300,000.

The EDC and Seminole Community College assisted Nomad in acquiring a Quick Response Training grant in the amount of $180,579, which will be used to train their new hires. The average salary of these new jobs is in excess of $65,000.

75 New Jobs: FedEx Ground's recent opening of a new 112,734-square-foot operations facility on Monroe Road in Sanford has created 75 new jobs here in Metro Orlando. The Sanford terminal -- one of 500 in the company's nationwide network -- houses operations for FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery. This Central Florida expansion is part of the company's national expansion strategy designed to increase package processing capacity to meet customer demand.

The EDC's business development team assisted FedEx in identifying potential sites in accordance with the company's specified parameters.

For more recent EDC announcements, click on the category - Economic Development Projects.