What Airlines Fly Out Of Key West?

The airlines that provide transportation to and from Key West are American Eagle, Delta Air Lines, and US Airways Express. Top destinations for those departing the Key West area are Atlanta, GA, Miami, FL, Tampa, FL, Charlotte, NC, and Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Where do flights from Key West go to?

Airlines and Top Destinations Top destinations for those departing the Key West area are Atlanta, GA, Miami, FL, Tampa, FL, Charlotte, NC, and Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Why did Southwest pull out of Key West?

The airline added the Key West airport to its route map in 2012 as part of its integration with AirTran, a wholly-owned subsidiary. ‘Unfortunately, the level of local demand no longer allows Southwest to profitably serve these markets,’ said Bob Jordan, Southwest’s executive VP and chief commercial officer.

Can you fly from Key West to Bahamas?

FAQs – booking The Bahamas flights The most popular route is from Key West to Nassau, and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $172.

Where do the rich live in Key West?

Which is the most expensive neighborhood in Key West? Posted: Oct 14, 2015 Which is the most expensive neighborhood in Key West? There are four name “neighborhoods” in downtown Key West. Routinely, sellers in these areas tell me their home should be marked up a few percent because of where they live.

1. Recently, I gave a listing presentation to a seller that included detailed pricing data and my Premium Marketing Plan.
2. Every fact and figure was fully justified and the sellers were comfortable enough to tell me their story of how they got here and why now they are leaving.
3. Still, I detected some hesitation.

In response they said, “You didn’t include something extra for our area.” Which downtown neighborhood is the priciest? An economist or businessman might explain the perception of the Seller as that of “goodwill”. Porsche, Mont Blanc, Chanel, athletes, models and the Key West zip code, 33040, all carry some measure of added worth merely by their presence.

Fair or not, over time and based on performance, the consumer has established a value above and beyond the actual value of the asset, aka, OK then, what about the value of the seller’s fine neighborhood and how does it compare to the other neighborhoods that comprise the mostly downtown area of Key West? The priciest neighborhoods in Key West are The Meadows, Old Town, Casa Marina and Truman Annex.

The Meadows is the smallest of these. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s was underdeveloped grassland and contained a few homes, several cigar factories, a few stores and the Key West dairy. In the early 1900’s, the neighborhood blossomed as homes were built by and for workers for Henry Flagler’s Overseas Railroad.

Old Town contains the first homes of Key West which generally are wood frame structures from the mid 1800’s to 1930’s. A fair number of these homes were even built in the Bahamas, then dismantled and brought to Key West. Old Town homes often remind people of homes in the NE US with their porches and open, airy construction.

Casa Marina is a newer section of downtown. It lays south of Old Town and was an area established by Old Town’s well-to-do in the 1930’s and 40’s who wanted some elbow room, in other words, Key West’s first suburb. These homes are mostly concrete and have larger yards than Old Town.

• Truman Annex sits on former US Navy property.
• After the Navy departed, the property lay fallow for years until bought and developed in the late 1980’s.
• Truman Annex is somewhat of a gated community and operates as a Homeowners Association.
• Homes here were built to specifically honor and replicate Old Town homes in construction and architecture.

You can see these neighborhoods in a map, In order to answer the question of which neighborhood is the priciest, I searched the Multiple Listing System of the Key West Association of Realtors. I mapped each neighborhood and searched for single family homes sold between January 1, 2014 and September 30, 2015.

(For the Truman Annex I also included Townhomes). The results are clear. The Casa Marina neighborhood sells single family homes with the largest average square feet and at the highest average sale price. The average sale price of $1,330,667 is 23% ahead of the second highest average sales price neighborhood of Old Town.

At 135 sales, Old Town clearly leads as the neighborhood with the most homes sold. Considered by many as the architecturally preferred area of Key West, Old Town has the largest variety of homes to select and includes neighborhood galleries, eateries and stores.

Truman Annex has the fewest number of single family and townhomes sold, 20 properties, but the List Price to Sale Price ratio is highest at 98%. Additionally, since the average size of a Truman Annex property sold is smallest at 1313 square feet, the $1M+ average sale price yields the highest average sale price per square foot of $825.

According to the sales data, The Meadows is the most “affordable” of the four neighborhoods reviewed. The average size of the 24 homes sold during the review period was second highest at 1681 square feet. Consequently, the average sale price per square feet was the lowest at $537.

1. The combination of a value purchase, appreciation from improvements, a friendly neighbor-to-neighbor atmosphere and an interesting, makes The Meadows a very desirable neighborhood in which to buy and live.
2. Each of these four neigborhoods has fantastic attributes beyond home size and price.
3. Safety, history and best of all, the people who live there make these neighborhoods, actually all of Key West, a neighborhood where you can feel like you belong.

And what of the seller who overestimated the value of their home because they and their Realtor were not fully aware of the data above? Unfortunately their home still hits unsold. Their first listing period expired without a sale. They kept the same Realtor and real estate company, kept the same price and the house still sits unsold.

What major airport is closest to the Keys?

The closest airport to Key West is Key West International, airport code EYW. It is located directly on the island.

What fighter jets are stationed in Key West?

SUNDOWNERS OVER KEY WEST Naval Air Station Key West (also known as Boca Chica Field) is home to Fighter Squadron Composite 111 or VFC-111; nicknamed “The Sundowners”. The airfield is located on Boca Chica Key at the very end of the Florida Keys, approximately 207 kilometers South-West of Miami; Florida.

The history of the Naval Base goes back to 1823, but Naval Aviation only commenced in September 1917. By December of that same year, the base was officially commissioned. NAS Key West is in close proximity of the Key West Complex airspace, a system of Warning- and operating areas used by units conducting training whilst on detachment.

The majority of this airspace is covered by the Tactical Aircrew Combat Training System (TACTS) which provides aircrew valuable information for training and performance evaluation in air-to-air combat. With ove r 250 days of sunshine annually; NAS Key West offers the prefect location for favorable flying conditions almost year round. In January 2006, Fighter Composite Squadron 13 or VFC-13 established a permanent detachment at Key West. It was redesignated as VFC-111 on November 1, 2006 and took over the “Sun Downers” identity that belonged to VF-111; a unit that operated the famous Navy F-14 Tomcat from out of NAS Miramar and which was disbanded on March 31, 1995.

VFA-111 on its turn had taken over the identity of VF-11; who originally was called “The Sundowners”. It refers to the squadron’s task of shooting down Japanese fighters or “Suns” during the Second World War. VFC-111 operate as part of the U.S. Navy Reserve’s fleet adversary program, providing dissimilar air combat training (DACT) not only to fleet strike fighter and Marine fighter attack squadrons, but to U.S.

Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard fighter squadrons as well. Besides VFC-13 which is flying from out of NAS Fallon (NV); VFC-111 is the only adversary squadron in the US Navy operating the Northrop F-5 Tiger II aircraft. At the same time, the United States Marine Corps also uses the F-5 in an adversary role; operated by VMFAT-401 which has its home base at MCAS Yuma (AZ).

1. F-5 TIGER II IN SERVICE During the 1970’s the USN started using a small number of F-5 aircraft for its adversary tasks.
2. When the U.S.
3. Air Force retired its F-5E/F fleet by 1990, various aircraft were reassigned to the adversary squadrons to increase the numbers.
4. With an rapidly ageing fleet and having aircraft nearing the end of its lifespan an alternative had to be found.

In 2004 the decision was made to buy 44 F-5 Tiger II’s (39 F-5E -and 5 F-5F models) from Switzerland, who at that time was cutting back on the number of aircraft in service due to budget-constrains. These former Swiss Air Force aircraft, with relatively little hours on the airframe, were delivered to the United States between 2004 and 2007.

Upon arriving in the USA, they were overhauled by Northrop Grumman at the company’s facility in St. Augustine (FL). Amongst others, the aircraft were updated with modernized avionics. Based on the new role of the F-5 as a lead-in trainer aircraft, there was a need for additional two-place training aircraft.

Northrop Grumman was offering a conversion kit that modified a single cockpit F-5E aircraft to a dual cockpit F-5F aircraft. This conversion replaced the F-5E forward fuselage with a F-5F forward fuselage, as such becoming an F-5F with relatively low flying hours.

A total of three trainers were modified and are referred to as so called “FrankenTigers”. On April 29, 2009 Northrop Grumman acquisition/Re-capitalization Program came to an end with the delivery of the 44th and final airframe. After completion of the updates the aircraft were designated to F-5N/F and distributed between VFC-111; VFC-13 and VMFAT-401.

Currently VFC-111 is operating 18 F-5s; 17 of these are single-seater F-5Ns and one sole F-5F “FrankenTiger” is being used for making future adversary pilots familiar with the Tiger. The F-5 has proven to be a solid simulator of third-generation threats such as the Mikoyan MiG-21 and the Chengdu Jian-7.

1. As such it is an ideal candidate for DACT.
2. Due to an overall shortfall compared with the number of sorties needed to meet the training requirements in general (the total capacity is currently estimated to be approximately 45% of the total training demand); it is also used for fourth-generation threats like the MiG-29 and Su-27.

However, due to its limit thrust and maneuverability; it is less suitable to act as fourth-generation opponent. The F-5 Tiger II has gone thru an improved handling quality (IHQ) upgrade though; which has enhanced the jet’s ability. Furthermore, the aircraft is very hard to see due to its small size.

The Tigers in use with VFC-111 have a wide range of different color schemes which perfectly blend into the surroundings. This helps the fleet pilots to visually get more acquainted with real-life examples of enemy threats, rather than to train with friendly aircraft of same size and color. Add to this the fact that the F-5N/F is an easy to maintain aircraft at relatively low costs; and it becomes clear that VFC-111 is well equipped to fulfill its tasks.

THE ADVERSARY MISSIONS Before becoming an operational VFC-111 adversary pilot; there are several steps it needs to go thru. Active duty pilots are selected by Navy Personnel Command based upon a preference list they submit; and their end-of-tour fitness report.

1. Reservist (SELRES) apply directly to VFC-111 and are selected based upon the squadron’s decision.
2. Full time support (FTS) are selected based upon a selection board that is administered by Navy Personnel Command.
3. Although all new pilots have at least completed one fleet tour on base of an aircraft carrier and have flow a minimum of 600 hours on a modern combat aircraft, flying an older third-generation aircraft like the F-5 requires some adaptations.

‘A new pilot at VFC-111 will first need to get familiarized with the F-5. On average, about ten flights with our sole F-5F is sufficient to teach and train the pilot the basics of flying the F-5 aircraft’ says LT Ryan ‘Slo Baby’ Pfeiffer, one of the pilots of VFC-111.

‘However, the real challenge only starts here’. Next step is to obtain adversary qualifications, which consists of four levels: Level one being solo adversary; level two being a Wingman in dual flight; level three being the lead of a division flight of four aircraft; and finally level four when the pilot has the lead over a major flight consisting of many aircraft.

On average a pilot will fly approximately 200 hours per year or around 170 different sorties. A fulltime contract as adversary pilot typically last for a three years period. Besides the full-time pilots in service with VFC-111, the squadron can also lean on a number of active reservists, who generally stay with the squadron for a longer period of time.

On average they usually are on active duty only one week per month. Within the naval service there are many different training events that require adversaries with different capabilities. As Lt Pfeiffer explains: ‘VFC-111 is well-trained and up to the broad scale of multiple and complex missions its customers are continuously asking for.

Missions can range from a single event with one F-5 only to trainings that require multiple adversary aircraft which are used at the same time for practicing different scenarios’. The vast majority of the professional adversary support VFC-111 provides is directly related to the requirement to generate and maintain the readiness of fleet strike-fighter squadrons.

Various trainings are making up the so-called Fleet Response Training Plan (FRTP); an extensive guidance for making naval forces ready for their different roles. There are two important trainings of the FRTP that are facilitated by VFC-111. The first one is the Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) Fighter Weapons and Tactics (FWT) phase.

Basically, pilots are being trained on the aircraft they have been assigned to fly; by a unit that is already operating this type of aircraft (the FRS). For example, detachments of both VFA-106 from NAS Oceana and VFA-122 from NAS Lemoore are operating the F/A-18 Super Hornet and are almost permanently based at Key West as FRS.

The same goes for Electronic attack Squadron VAQ-129 from NAS Whidbey Island (WA) who has transitioned from the EA-6B to the EA-18G Growler recently. While the practice of bombing targets on the ground is done over the extensive ranches near El Centro (CA); the FWT phase takes place at Key West. It is an individually based; basic strike-fighter training which each pilot must complete before joining an active duty unit.

The second training in which VFC-111 plays an important role is the so-called Strike-fighter Advanced Readiness Program or SFARP. In contrary to the FWT phase; this is a training phase that an entire squadron completes as a team. It usually lasts for about three weeks to a month.

During this period, the Strike Fighter pilots are sharpening their fighting skills and tactics against the adversary squadron; in preparation for an upcoming deployment with a Carrier Air Wing (CAW). Different roles and “real-life” scenarios are being practiced; becoming increasingly complex during the course of the period.

FRS and SFARP combined are making-up approximately 37% of the total training demand in which adversary aircraft are brought to the tasks. As such, VFC-111 plays a major contribution in making sure USN aircrews are well trained and up for the job should any worldwide situation require their immediate support THE KEY WEST RANGE AND EQUIPMENT All missions are flown over the Key West complex which is located over open-ocean in waters adjacent to the southwestern coast of Florida; between the Florida Keys and Cuba.

• Aircraft departing NAS Key West will normally make a sharp turn to the left immediately after take-off.
• Lt Pfeiffer explains: ‘the airfield is situated in close proximity of housing-areas.
• With so much flying activities going on almost year-round; we try to reduce the aircraft noise for the citizens as much as possible.

By banking away after take-off we avoid flying directly over the residential area’s’. Within minutes after take-off the aircraft are already in the airspace of the vast Key West complex. Depending on the time of the mission flown, they will proceed to different instrumental ranges; instrumental target areas or non-instrumented warning areas like Warning Area 174 (W-174).

This Warning Area is covered by the Tactical Aircrew Combat Training System (TACTS) and is the area where most of the DACT missions are taking place. TACTS provides a capability for real-time tracking of aircraft engaged in air combat. The system has a replay capability and provides valuable information for post-assessment of the mission, including inter-aircraft positon data and weapon launch outcomes.

In 2006, the P5 Combat Training System/Tactical Combat Training System (CTS/TCTS) was taken into use at NAS Key West; being the first Navy installation to work with this sophisticated tool. Today the system allows not only for US Naval Forces to train, but also the US Air Force and allied forces are using the P5, making it a common used platform with maximum flexibility.

• The system; developed by Cubic Defense Applications; has proven to be an invaluable asset for VFC-111 and its training-partners.
• Or as Lt Pfeiffer puts it: ‘The advanced P5 system in combination with the P5 instrumental pod; offers great detailed insights in the performance of the Strike Fighter aircrew.

It allows for a steep learning-curve during the period they are here to train with our squadron’. At the same time; it also provides the adversary pilots with valuable information; allowing us to continuously improve tactics and skill’. The F-5’s at VFC-111 are being equipped with a P5 instrumentation pod before commencing an adversary mission.

The pod is mounted to a AIM-9 or AMRAAM launch rail; allowing it to be used by a variety of fixed and rotary wing aircraft. The GPS-based pods provide continuous and precise tracking of equipped participants throughout a training mission and collect a diversity of in-flight data. Amongst others; it includes a real-time kill notification (RTKN) to the aircrews and real-time weapons scoring for long-range weapons.

The P5 pod can support up to 100 aircraft in a single exercise and has a range of 80 nautical miles air-to-air and 125 nautical miles air-to-ground, which can even be extended to over 200 miles with some small modifications. During the mission, the pods mounted to various aircraft communicate with each other and the ground systems, all data being transferred to the ground live monitoring systems.

By the time all players have safely returned from their mission to NAS Key West, all mission data will be readily available for the debriefs. PRESENT AND FUTURE FLEET REQUIEREMENTS As already mentioned earlier, the fleet demand for adversary training exceeds the current sortie capacity of the Adversary Air Force (ADFOR).

With a rapidly ageing fleet of F-5’s; F/A-18’s and F-16’s, the US Department of Defense (DoD) is looking into alternatives for the short- and midterm. One solution is to increase the hours with external companies who provide additional adversary support.

Already since quite a number of years, these so-called Contracted Air Services (CAS) have proven to be a success and as such it is growing in popularity. At the moment, there are two major companies offering their adversary support: ATAC being stationed in Newport News (VA) and Draken International who is operating out of Lakeland (FL).

Both companies have a wide variety of adversary aircraft on offer; ranging from the Hawker Hunter Mk.58 to the A-4 Skyhawk. Most of the pilots in service with these CAS are former US Navy or Air Force adversary pilots, so very much capable to do the job.

1. Nowadays the aircraft of these two companies are a common sight not only at NAS Key West; but also on any other air base where adversary flights are required (for example: most recently the A-4 Skyhawk’s of Draken Intl.
2. Were stationed at Nellis Air Force Base (NV) for a period of two weeks during the Red Flag 2016-2 exercise).

With the F-5 being a low-cost maintenance aircraft, it comes to no surprise that the DoD is also looking into options to expand the F-5 fleet to increase the capacity at the short term and to be able to replace the current F-5’s in service with low-hour examples at a later stage.

Lt Pfeiffer says: ‘with the number of sorties we are flying with the F-5’s here at VFC-111; it is estimated that the F-5 will only last until 2020. It would be great if we could extend the fleet with additional fresh aircraft so we can continue to use the F-5 beyond 2020, however future plans are not solid yet’.

It might be very well the case that more F-5’s will enter into service with the US Naval Forces in due time. In the past there have been first talks with the Swiss government to buy another batch of F-5’s; which are becoming redundant due to further downsizing of the Swiss Air Force.

At the same time; the Swiss were planning to buy 22 new-build Saab Gripen E fighters as a replacement for the ageing F-5 fleet. However in a public referendum held on May 18 2014, the people voted against the proposal. The procurement of an new fighter for the Swiss Air Force will now only start again next year, which will re-open the doors for negotiations again to buy their remaining F-5’s before 2020.

Meanwhile; VFC-111 is up to its task with the current fleet of 18 aircraft. With a continuously high demand for adversary training events and potentially an additional influx of low hour F-5E’s from Switzerland within the next couple of years; the future of VFC-111 as one of the very few adversary units within the US Forces remains as bright as the sunny skies over NAS Key West.

Where do private planes land in Key West?

3 Airports Near Key West – There are two private jet airports in Key West, Key West International Airport (EYW ) and Key West Nas Airport ( NQX ). The Florida Keys Marathon International Airport ( MTH ) is located 47 miles away in Marathon.

Why is there a blimp over Key West?

Tethered Aerostat Radar System–The Blimp BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff After more than 30 years of keeping an eagle eye on air and sea traffic from the Caribbean Sea to TampaBay, a Lower Keys fixture appears to be going the way of the Dodo. The tethered Air Force blimp colloquially known as “Fat Albert” that hovers over Cudjoe Key will end its 33-year flight on March 15, according to an internal email by the defense contractor that operates the blimps nationally — Virginia-based Exelis Systems Corp. The blimp, a Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) in military parlance, is part of an Air Force program that apparently has fallen prey to the budget hatchet. The Air Force told Exelis employees on Jan.15 that TARS sites — there are such blimps along the Mexico/U.S.

1. Border as well as the Florida Straits — will be axed.
2. The company tried to strike a deal with the Department of Homeland Security for it to take over from the Air Force, but those talks apparently failed, according to the company email.
3. Multiple messages left at the Air Force Air Combat Command in Langley, Va., seeking comment on Monday and Tuesday could not be answered by press deadlines, military personnel there said.

“In the, the government also indicated its intent that aerostat flight operations will cease on March 15, 2013, and that the remainder of the fiscal year will be used to deflate aerostats, disposition equipment, and prepare sites for permanent closure,” the Exelis email states.

A person who answered the phone at the Cudjoe Key station Monday said all questions about Fat Albert should be directed to the Air Force. The blimp has been a source of barroom fodder for Keys residents, as rumors of its mission have swirled since it first rose above Cudjoe Key. The 250,000 cubic-foot blimp was the first such aerostat used by the Air Force.U.S.

Customs and Border Protection and the Coast Guard use the blimps in counter-drug trafficking operations. There are actually two TARS blimps at Cudjoe Key, according to the Air Force. Both are low-level surveillance systems. One was formerly used by the State Department to transmit TV Marti, an American television signal, into Cuba. The other blimp is used in counter-drug operations and by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), according to the Air Force.

The blimps reportedly can withstand up to 65-knot winds. TARS was part of the largest such blimp system in the world; and the first aerostat in the program went up over Cudjoe Key, according to the Air Force. There are also TARS sites in Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico, Puerto Rico and Texas. Young and Coast Guard Sector Key West Cmdr.

Do the airlines fly into Key West??

Gary Tomasulo were in meetings Monday and Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. Young told US-1 Radio’s “Morning Magazine” show Monday that he would prefer the Air Force kept Fat Albert flying, as it assists the Coast Guard in its anti-smuggling mission.

It appears to be a funding issue, and I believe what the Air Force is doing is saying, ‘If it has value to the Department of Homeland Security, then find a way to pay for it’ — I think that’s what’s going on right now,” Young said. “Its presence has deterrent value to illicit trafficking here in the area — both human and drug trafficking.

“And it also allows us, here at the Coast Guard, to maintain real-time visibility of air and surface resources.” Young called the blimp a tool the Coast Guard is going to have to live without. “We’ve got some pretty sophisticated tools that we work with already, but if you’re asking me, ‘Do I want to work without it?’ I would tell you no.” Many residents appear to agree with Young as a petition has taken flight via the White House “We the People” online platform.

1. The national petition is called: “Keep the Tethered Aerostat Radar System Operational in order to help secure the Southern Border of the United States” and can be seen and signed at petitions.whitehouse.gov.
2. As of Tuesday, there were 343 signatures out of 100,000 needed to garner an official response from President Barack Obama’s administration.

The petition states: “This shutdown will open one more door to those wishing to bring narcotics into our country or otherwise violate our southern border by removing a vital sensor system that is used by the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection and other agencies.

Direct the US Air Force and/or the Department of Homeland Security to continue operating this system in Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.” Fat Albert has popped in and out of headlines over the years it’s been flying guard. Most recently, in 2007, three people were killed after their private Cessna plane hit one of its cables and crashed.

In January 1991, the blimp broke free of its tether while being lowered for maintenance and drifted over the Everglades before crews activated a remote-control pressure valve. The program suffered a series of crashes between March 1993 and February 1994, when high winds claimed three aerostats, according to Citizen reports. But the most dramatic Fat Albert story may well be that of the four lobster fishermen who were taken on a wild ride when they hooked a runaway blimp to their 23-foot fishing boat in August 1981, according to Miami Herald reports. Fat Albert lifted the boat and its 175-horsepower engine into the air before dumping the fishermen in the water near the Mud Keys. That Fat Albert was finally shot out of the sky by Air Force F-4 Phantom fighter jets using air-to-air missiles. Jaime Benevides Jr., the captain of that fishing boat, told the reporter he was trying to help the Air Force by towing Fat Albert back to its rightful roost.

• He was otherwise happy to have his boat back, as well as his Evinrude outboard, after the ordeal.
• It cranked right back up,” Benevides said.
• Historian Tom Hambright, who oversees the Florida history section at Monroe County Library’s Key West branch, chuckled as he perused clippings regarding Fat Albert.

Hambright compared the soon-to-be-extinct blimp to the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station Jacksonville Detachment’s Key West radio station on the Saddlebunch Keys that closed in September. ” was a landmark, but the world is changing,” Hambright said. In February of 2013 budget cuts were forcing the closure of the base, but citizens and politicians came to its rescue to keep it operating. Link to Cuban history website. Link