New CEO of Gainesville Regional Airport sees opportunities for growth

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - Gainesville Regional Airport has a new CEO. Paul Mehrlich is hoping to lead growth and opportunity within the airport.

Mehrlich is continuing the GNV Airport’s 20 year plan that works alongside the community. He outlined his plans to improve the terminals and increase support for customers as the community grows in the form of children’s play areas and sensory rooms.

The opportunity for growth in the airline industry increased after Spirit Airlines permanently disbanded, Mehrlich said. He sees opportunities for new routes and to increase customer reach.

“At the end of the day though, it’s going to have to be backed up with data,” he said. “That can become challenging for destinations that people just drive to, but we’ll be working with our airline partners at exploring some of those.”

Mehrlich said he wants people to understand the benefits to using a local airport. Any pains with parking, security, and traffic to larger airports in Florida is something the airport doesn’t put on to customers, he said.

“Those are additional costs that a lot of people don’t think about when they’re only looking at the ticket price,” he said.

When looking at ticket prices of flights from Gainesville to Miami in the upcoming weeks, an average cost of a single ticket could cost consumers around $431, with most of those deals being indirect flights when booked through Expedia.

Mehrlich began his position in April after leadership experience at Texarkana Regional Airport in Arkansas. The position opened after Allan J. Penksa retired after 18 years.

Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.