“The Orlando Experience” encompasses everything from the mission of the Orlando International Airport (MCO), the design concept, its customer service, and, of course, a vision for the future of one of the busiest airports in the United States. This “Orlando Experience” is present in many aspects of the Orlando International Airport, from a complete makeover of many of the interior aspects of the airport, the expansion of the APM, and the 2,400-space parking garage “C,” all arriving just as passenger traffic surpasses the 44 million mark in 2017.
Since the beginning of 2018, Orlando International Airport has added 15 new nonstop destinations, bringing the total offered at MCO to 139 – more than Tampa and Jacksonville combined. This brings the total to 57 destinations in 26 countries, 19 of which have been added in the past three years. Orlando remains the most-visited destination in the United States.
The recent expansion for MCO has included adding a variety of new nonstop travel destinations to their already impressive list of routes. International nonstop locations added so far this year include Amsterdam, Zurich, Belfast and Monterey, Mexico.
The full list of nonstop international destinations can be found below.
- Bahamas
- Brazil
- Canada (Alberta, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec)
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- England
- France
- Germany
- Haiti
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- Northern Ireland
- Norway
- Panama
- Peru
- Scotland
- Switzerland
- Trinidad and Tobago
- United Arab Emirates
MCO has evolved from its humble origins as McCoy Air Force Base to the 11th busiest airport and fourth largest by land mass in the U.S. MCO also ranks as the busiest airport in Florida with more than 45 million passengers annually. MCO had a record-breaking first quarter with overall passenger traffic going up 7.76 percent, totalling 12,041,616 passengers.
Lake Nona has also played a critical part in MCO’s ability to expand in recent years. When airlines are selecting an airport to bring routes to, discussions are held not only in regards to the airport’s capacity to handle the amount of foot traffic but also the resources and selling points located around the airport. Lake Nona, Medical City, and the USTA are some of the biggest selling points to airlines when it comes to pitching MCO to airlines to host new routes. Along with Disney and some of the other major Orlando attractions’ recent growth, balanced with key business factors, more airlines are seeing the appeal and potential for MCO.
“We mention and talk about what’s happening in Lake Nona” said Victoria Jaramillo, senior director of marketing and air service development at the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. “One of the reasons Lufthansa came in 2007 was because they were looking for the next medical destination. They announced originally just four flights a week, but by the time they launched in October, it had already increased to five because of the demand.”
Now, Lufthansa has a daily flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Orlando, and it maintains a load factor – or the number of seats occupied for a flight – in the 90s, meaning the flights are, or almost are, completely booked.
Other airlines are recognizing the potential in Orlando to become a bigger hub for domestic and international travel, including legacy carrier Delta introducing a flight from Orlando to Amsterdam, Netherlands, seven days a week, Orlando to Atlanta, GA., on JetBlue seven days a week, Orlando to Richmond, VA., seven days a week on Spirit, and Virgin Atlantic to Belfast, Northern Ireland, twice a week. Each of these planes have load factors of up to 88 percent.
With the recent announcement of KPMG’s selection of Lake Nona for its $400 million learning, development and innovation facility, Southwest has responded to the new interest in the Orlando area provided by KPMG by adding a new route from Orlando to San Jose. Other airlines are also considering making this adjustment in response to KMPG.
“[Lake Nona] has so many different levels,” said Carolyn M. Fennell, the senior director of public affairs and community relations at the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. “Education to health research and services, [Lake Nona] makes up a large traveling population as well. It builds the case for the airlines.”
MCO continues to stand out against other airports across the United States, especially with the new South Terminal as well as the addition of the Orlando International Airport Intermodal Terminal. This terminal will also house the Brightline Train that will run from Orlando through West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale into Miami. Travel time from Orlando to Miami on Brightline is supposed to take just about three hours. When Brightline arrives at MCO, it will be the only airport in the United States to have an on-airport hub for intercity rail.
With Orlando’s continued evolution from just a destination to be traveled to into one of the largest markets for world travelers, this expansion is set to continue to open domestic and international doors for all of those living in the area and across the state of Florida.
“The local market is so very critical as well,” said Jaramillo. “There are people that live here and also want to travel.”
