Air travelers can claim a silver lining with the COVID-19 pandemic: the 60 percent drop in passenger traffic last year reduced fares at South Carolina’s airports, along with the rest of the country.
The average price for booking a spot in the U.S. in the third quarter of last year dropped to $ 245, the lowest rate ever recorded by the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics dated 1995. Before the pandemic, from January to March, the average tariff was $ 336.
In the state of Palmetto, the four largest airports followed suit.
Myrtle Beach International offered the lowest fares, with an average fee of $ 193 during the third quarter, compared to $ 315 during the first three months of last year, when the coronavirus closed the economy and took away all the fun of traveling on jet planes and other confined spaces.
Charleston International, traditionally the busiest airport in the state, came in second with an average air fare of $ 254, a drop of $ 100 from the January to March period.
Greenville-Spartanburg International posted the third lowest price for air travel, with an average fee of $ 273 during the summer and early fall, about $ 115 less than in the first quarter of 2020.
In Midlands, Columbia MetropolitanThe company’s generally high fares – mainly because of the lack of competition – offering fewer flights fell to an average of $ 301 during the third quarter, from $ 438 in the first three months of last year.
Average air fares for the final three months of 2020 should not be released for a few more months.
Atlanta-based WestRock, which operates a paper mill in North Charleston, is selling a sawmill in Summerville for $ 59 million to Canadian logger Interfor. Archive / Team
Sawn
Giant of paper and packaging WestRock is cutting his Summerville sawmill.
The Atlanta-based company said it had signed an agreement to sell the operation to Interfor Corp. for $ 59 million. As part of the deal, the buyer will enter into a long-term supply contract for chip and biomass with the WestRock paper mill along the North Charleston waterfront.
“The sale of the Summerville sawmill better aligns our asset portfolio with our fiber-based packaging strategy,” Steve Voorhees, CEO of WestRock, said in a statement. “Interfor’s focus on wood production makes it an excellent owner of the sawmill going forward.”
As a result of the transaction, Interfor’s total annual timber production capacity will increase to 3.2 billion square feet, with 55 percent of that capacity in the south.
Ian Fillinger, president and CEO of Interfor, said the transaction “is a logical combination with our existing platform in the southern US and reiterates Interfor’s commitment to disciplined growth and investments in the southern US.”
Interfor, which also has a sawmill in Georgetown, plans to finance the purchase with cash. Voorhees said WestRock will use proceeds from the sale to reduce its debt.
The transaction is expected to close on March 31.
In addition to its Cooper River plant, the WestRock specialty chemicals division Ingevity Corp. is headquartered in North Charleston. The company was formed when MeadWestvaco Corp., which started making paper and other tree products in Lowcountry since 1920, was sold to Rock-Tenn in ???.
Branching Beacon
South Carolina’s newest local initial lender is signaling expansion.
Beacon Community Bank It filed papers with government regulators this month to open a branch on Daniel Island, where there will be no lack of competition for loans and deposits.
According to an application with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the new office will be at a shopping center on 20 Fairchild St. that also houses a Starbucks coffee shop.
It will be Beacon’s third private retail location. It became the state’s first all-new startup bank in more than a decade when it opened its doors at 578 East Bay St. in downtown Charleston in January 2018, after raising about $ 34 million in starting capital from over 320 investors locations.
Since then, it has expanded to Mount Pleasant with an office on Houston Northcutt Boulevard.
Beacon was one of the few real startups in the country – No. 9, to be exact – to be issued a letter from the federal government after the Great Recession.
The bank covers approximately 2 hectares along US Highway 17 in front of Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant for a future branch and corporate headquarters.
Making room for a new name
An East Cooper hotel that is increasing its capacity by reconfiguring a room is being revamped.
Long-standing signage MainStay Suites at 400 McGrath Darby Blvd. on the Mount Pleasant side of the Ravenel Bridge was switched to Candlewood Suites flag.
The hotel was developed over 20 years ago by Lands Inn Inc., which was led by Columbia’s product entrepreneur RC McEntire.
The accommodation was the first location in the Charleston region for MainStay, part of Choice Hotels. The Lands Inn sold it for about 18 months, for $ 7 million, or about $ 96,800 per guest key in the original layout. The current owner, Jae Ambe III LLC from Daniel Island is about to convert 23 two-bedroom suites into 46 studio units. Room restoration will increase the net number of rooms from 71 to 94 when completed.
An online survey on Sunday showed that the Mount Pleasant property near Wingo Way was still being marketed under the MainStay brand.
Candlewood Suites already has a hotel nearby Northwoods Mall in North Charleston. The flag is part of the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts accommodation stable, which includes Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza.