Oct. 21, 2009 (Business Wire) -- The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) today announced a strategic alliance providing for the commencement of air service to Northwest Florida’s new international airport near Panama City Beach, Florida in May 2010. The airport, currently under construction, is the first international airport built in the U.S. in the last 16 years. Southwest’s service at the new airport will consist of at least two daily nonstop flights from Northwest Florida to each of four destinations for a total of eight daily nonstop flights.

St. Joe is the largest landowner in Northwest Florida with hundreds of thousands of acres in the service area of the new airport. Specifically, St. Joe owns approximately 71,000 acres of land surrounding the new airport. Millions of tourists are drawn each year to Northwest Florida beaches, some of the most beautiful in the world. The region is also home to important defense aerospace economic clusters anchored by U.S. Air Force, Navy and Army installations.

“The entire Northwest Florida region can be proud of its efforts to secure service from the nation’s premier low-fare airline,” said St. Joe’s CEO and President Britt Greene. “Southwest service, combined with the economic development potential of the new airport, will be instrumental in the long-term success of the region. The region now has a truly meaningful catalyst to help drive growth in the coming years.”

St. Joe intends to aggressively leverage Southwest’s service at the new international airport to drive tourism, economic development and job growth in the region and real estate absorption in the company’s projects across Northwest Florida.

“History has shown that the ‘Southwest Effect’ can have a dramatically positive economic impact on a market and a region,” said Greene. “We believe Southwest’s entry into Northwest Florida will be the foundation from which growth will emanate for future decades. This will truly provide a catalyst for us to create value for our shareholders for many years to come.”

“In the past, Northwest Florida’s economic growth has been hampered by limited service and some of the highest airfares in the country,” Greene said. “Southwest, with its legendary Customer service, extensive network and competitive fare structure, greatly improves our competitive position for economic development prospects and dramatically raises this region’s profile.”

Given the current state of the U.S. economy and the airline industry, new airline service must be positioned as an economic development initiative with broad regional support. St.