Blue Wahoos And Silver Airways Unveil Kazoo Airplane

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos now have an airplane decorated in their honor.
Passengers on Silver Airways Flight 83 from Orlando, which landed Thursday morning at Pensacola International Airport, became part of history, complete with a water cannon salute on the tarmac as the Blue Wahoos plane arrived at its gate.
Pensacola mayor Grover Robinson IV, Blue Wahoos mascot Kazoo, and front office staff with festive Hawaiian-design hats standing to greet the passengers joined to celebrate the team's new partnership with Fort Lauderdale-based Silver Airways.
"One of the things we talked about is how can we have some buzz. Do something really fun and interesting that will get the Blue Wahoos and Sliver Airways out in the community," said Steve Rossum, the Silver Airways chief executive officer, who addressed a press conference prior to the plane's on-time arrival at 8:55 a.m.
The buzz was attained. Passengers in the terminal were provided hats and the grounds crew servicing the aircraft were smiling as the Saab 340b Turboprop eased to a stop.
"It is a wonderful advertisemet, not only for the Blue Wahoos and Silver Airways, but for the entire Gulf Coast region as well." Rossum said. "The airplane will be flying in and out of Pensacola as much as we can and in and out of the Destin airport as much as we can.
"The Blue Wahoos share our vision. Their community involvement and their charity work is extraordinary. The people we have met and work with are just amazing. They are wonderful representatives of the Pensacola community."
Silver Airways offers direct flights from Pensacola to its hub, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, located right off Interstate-95, along with non-stop service to Tampa and Orlando. Connections can be made to Key West and Bahamas, as well as select locations outside of Florida. Many of those passenger flights will be on the Blue Wahoos decorated plane. 
"We really appreciate Silver Airways putting our name on one of their planes," Mayor Robinson said. "You think about 40,000 passengers, just in Pensacola fly Silver Airways. But you are also talking about passengers all over the state. They will understand Florida includes Pensacola too.
"We think this is a great ambassador for Pensacola."
The Blue Wahoos awarded a fan two free Silver Airways tickets to the Bahamas at the April 10 home opener. The team will continue its Silver Airways ticket giveaway to locations during selected homestands.
"We are ecstatic to open this partnership with Silver Airways," said Blue Wahoos team president Jonathan Griffith. "When you go around the southeast, you're going to see a huge fish flying through the air and you're going to think about Pensacola!
"That's what we wanted to do. We just won the Strong Towns competition and this is just another step to show how great Pensacola is to live and visit. We're hoping this helps really expand the entire brand of Pensacola, our beaches, and our downtown area."
The Blue Wahoos became one of just two teams in minor league baseball with a team design on a commercial aircraft. Rossum said Pensacola will soon be serviced by its new ATR-600 eco-friendly fleet of aircraft.
"Silver Airways has gone through a transformation in last couple years," he said. "We have improved our service levels. We are getting new aircraft. Pensacola and the I-10 corridor is a very, very important market for us. And we are going to be increasing our commitment to Pensacola."
The Silver Airways expansion, particularly its new non-stop service to Fort Lauderdale, further expands the array of options for Pensacola travelers.
"The airport is really the primary gateway to the Pensacola-Greater Gulf Coast region," said Dan Flynn, executive director of Pensacola International Airport. "We've always been proud of relationships we have with the airlines which serve our facility. We are proud of the commitment these airlines show to introduce people to our own little slice of heaven.
"Silver Airways is taking the commitment to an entirely new level. They are going to be doing something that will help showcase what we have to offer in the Pensacola area to the tens of thousands of individuals. This is a wonderful relationship and wonderful commitment."