Five new routes from the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport have been added, including a non-stop flight to Los Angeles, airport officials announced Tuesday.
The LAX flight has been long-awaited for Savannah residents and economic drivers as the city has become a prominent destination for film and television productions.
"The Savannah Airport Commission greatly appreciates Breeze Airways' decision to add SAV to their route structure. Adding these five cities to our list of nonstop markets is very significant for us and the region we serve," said Steve Green, chairman of the Savannah Airport Commission, said in a release.
Credit: John Carrington, John Carrington
Credit: John Carrington, John Carrington
“Service to LAX has been a top priority of ours for several years now and will be a tremendous boost to our film and TV production industries by simplifying travel to and from the West Coast.”
Trip Tollison, CEO of president and CEO of the Savannah Economic Development Authority, said the direct flights to LAX were established because of the influx of travelers between the two destinations.
"The ability for cast and crew to easily travel to Los Angeles, Atlanta and other key cities helps productions keep cost down and is more efficient than having to make connections," Tollison wrote in email response to question posed to the Savannah Film Commission, which is run out of SEDA's offices on Forsyth Park.
Savannah's film industry has been bolstered in recent years through a series of rebates and subsidies for productions, both statewide and local, that incentivize moviemaking. Movies like 2016's "Baywatch" remake and the award-winning miniseries "The Underground Railroad" took advantage of the incentives, according to the Savannah Film Commission.
Last year, television, film and commercial productions generated $116 million in "direct spend" in the Savannah economy, according to the film commission. In January, Savannah was named No. 2 on Moviemakers magazine's annual “Best Small Cities and Towns to Live and Work as a Moviemaker."
Tollison told the Savannah Morning News that this new flight is years in the making.
"For several years, we have known that a direct flight would be beneficial to the Savannah region and the entertainment production industry," his emailed response reads. "We are grateful to the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport for working with the Savannah Economic Development Authority and other partners to make this a reality."
Credit: Scott Heckel/Canton Repository
Credit: Scott Heckel/Canton Repository
In the initial press release, Tollison added that the new flights will help grow industries across all spectrums as Georgia attracts dozens of companies to the Peach State each year through subsidies, economic benefits packages and location to major industry and infrastructure (like the ports).
"As more and more companies are looking to relocate out of Southern California to the Southeastern U.S., there is certainly a business case to be made for investing in direct service between Savannah and Los Angeles."
The other four flights, all from Breeze Airways, include Hartford, Conn.; Providence, R.I.; Columbus, Ohio; and Norfolk, Va.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Breeze Airways adds nonstop flight to Los Angeles from Savannah-Hilton Head Airport
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