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Shouldn't airports shorten their names?

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Shouldn't airports shorten their names?

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Old Jan 18, 2015, 4:14 am
  #106  
 
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Originally Posted by Ber2dca
I think the issue with Reagan as a name for DCA is that it has a good chance to stick in public parlance which annoys people who didn't like Reagan politically. These kinds of names always have a decent chance to stick in multi-airport cities. And I wouldn't even go and talk about "tourons" given that the D.C. area is a place full of transplants, expats and immigrants.
Close but not just that. It was the fact that the name was forced on the airport by a Republican Congress, against the wishes of local voters. Ironic given how Republicans go on and on about an overbearing Federal government. Locals were perfectly happy with the original name - Washington National Airport.
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Old Jan 18, 2015, 8:27 am
  #107  
 
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Originally Posted by gpmHSV
Oh my, you can't drop Saint Reagan's name from anything!
Everyone has to agree he was the greatest president ever!!
(Heavy sarcasm for the humor-impaired)

I wondered which @#$! would start the unneeded/unwanted political subthread. Congratulations, it's you!

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Old Jan 18, 2015, 12:05 pm
  #108  
 
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Originally Posted by DeafFlyer
What was wrong with it being named after George Washington, who lived nearby?
I don't think it was ever called George Washington National Airport. It replaced Hoover-Washington Airport and I've found no reference to the "Washington" in the airport name referring to anything other than the city.

And Mt. Vernon is over 10 miles from DCA. If you are referring to Arlington House, George Washington never lived there. Robert E. Lee however did. I guess that would be the appropriate name for the airport then.
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Old Jan 18, 2015, 6:03 pm
  #109  
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Simple solution to the Hartsfield/Jackson debate...

Let's just name it "Sherman"


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Old Jan 18, 2015, 7:42 pm
  #110  
 
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Originally Posted by Ber2dca
I don't think it was ever called George Washington National Airport. It replaced Hoover-Washington Airport and I've found no reference to the "Washington" in the airport name referring to anything other than the city.
I think naming it after the city Washington or the State Washington, in effect, is naming it after the President... unless one of them is named after a different Washington I havent heard of
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Old Jan 19, 2015, 8:11 am
  #111  
 
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From a "foreigner's" perspective the most ridiculous sounding US airport name is George Bush Intercontinental. I look forward to upcoming trips to Margaret Thatcher Interplanetary and Fidel Castro Intergalactic.
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Old Jan 19, 2015, 10:02 am
  #112  
 
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The original terminal at DCA was built to look like Mt. Vernon which is just downriver. Also, Arlington House was built by the step-grandson and adopted son of George Washington, George Washington Parke Custis. That airport is neatly hemmed in by George Washington! Reagan can go back to Calli.

(It's just by chance that G.W. Parke Custis became the father-in-law of Robert E. Lee)
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Old Jan 19, 2015, 11:59 am
  #113  
 
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Originally Posted by brendog
DCA is my home airport. I have no idea where this "Reagan" place might be.
Does DCA have direct flight to Idlewild Airport?
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Old Jan 19, 2015, 12:14 pm
  #114  
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Originally Posted by You want to go where?
Close but not just that. It was the fact that the name was forced on the airport by a Republican Congress, against the wishes of local voters. Ironic given how Republicans go on and on about an overbearing Federal government. Locals were perfectly happy with the original name - Washington National Airport.
Democrats changed SEA to Henry M. Jackson International Airport after the late U.S. Senator (D-WA) but Tacoma threatened to sue if their name was taken off. Luckily, it was not changed to a mouthful, Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson Seattle Tacoma International Airport.

Actually, Tacoma would have nothing to sue if it were changed to Jackson Tacoma Airport!
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Old Jan 19, 2015, 12:28 pm
  #115  
 
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Originally Posted by SoCal
National Airport was just that for years and years. It was Congress that added Ronald Reagan to the name. At least one Congressman wanted to name a federal building after Reagan in every Congressional district.
I believe it was not a congressman but rather the head of Americans for Tax Reform, Grover Norquist. Norquist does have remarkable sway over many congressmen via his no-tax pledge program.
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Old Jan 19, 2015, 12:49 pm
  #116  
 
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Originally Posted by ludocdoc
It's the third closest airport to Boston, behind Boston (Logan) which is actually in Boston, and Providence RI, which is actually linked to Boston by (somewhat inconvenient) train service. I also note that PVD is about to get International service with a biweekly direct to FRA on Condor. Lets see if they add Int'l to the name; not yet. The website seems to have shortened it to Green
Interesting. It used to be known as T.F. Green State Airport, which was amusingly provincial in contrast to nearby airports with more grandiose titles (Hartford-Springfield Bradley International Airport, Manchester "Boston" Regional Airport). I like the new, shorter "Green Airport," although Providence should really be in the name somewhere.
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Old Jan 19, 2015, 1:17 pm
  #117  
 
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Originally Posted by KoKoBuddy
Does DCA have direct flight to Idlewild Airport?
Sure does. B6 and DL.

Changing the name of an iconic place, such as National, generally causes annoyance to the locals, such as with the Willis Tower or the RFK Bridge (Sears and the RFK, for those not familiar with Chicago or NYC). There is no need to change the name of something that has been the same for 50+ years, as it just causes confusion.

Originally Posted by fastflyer
Interesting. It used to be known as T.F. Green State Airport, which was amusingly provincial in contrast to nearby airports with more grandiose titles (Hartford-Springfield Bradley International Airport, Manchester "Boston" Regional Airport). I like the new, shorter "Green Airport," although Providence should really be in the name somewhere.
When PVD was my main airport, most people called it "Providence" or "Green", with Providence being the most common.
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Old Jan 19, 2015, 1:39 pm
  #118  
 
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Originally Posted by Vidiot
Agreed. My ire is reserved for airport operators who like to refer to their facilities using three letters that aren't the IATA code. As has been mentioned before upthread, Denver is DEN and not DIA, and Kansas City is MCI and not KCI. I've been confused on trips to both of those airports, wondering if I was booking a hotel room or rental car at the wrong place, or going to the wrong airport.

PKB in Parkersburg, WV used to be to my recollection the Parkersburg Airport - Gil Robb Wilson Field. Now it's the "Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport", or worse, the "MOV Regional Airport" and its website URL is flymov.com. Another confusing one.
Yes, it always throws me off when I'm in Orlando and hear the local newsflappers refer to OIA. It takes a moment to realize that they're talking about MCO. BUt I'll cut them a little slack on this one, as the airport's name is the perfectly logical and not overly-long Orlando International Airport, which shares nothing with the IATA code. Any locals who don't fly - which is a majority in most American cities - wouldn't know the IATA code for their own airport, especially if it's so removed from the airport's current name.

Still, it... smells wrong in my braincase to hear it called OIA.
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Old Jan 19, 2015, 1:42 pm
  #119  
 
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Why not simply rename them with their iata code?

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport --> ATL-I (I stands for international)
John F. Kennedy International Airport --> JFK-I
Toronto Pearson International Airport --> YYZ-I
Boise Airport --> BOI-D (D stands for domestic)
...
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Old Jan 19, 2015, 2:21 pm
  #120  
 
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Originally Posted by brendog
Sure does. B6 and DL.

Changing the name of an iconic place, such as National, generally causes annoyance to the locals, such as with the Willis Tower or the RFK Bridge (Sears and the RFK, for those not familiar with Chicago or NYC). There is no need to change the name of something that has been the same for 50+ years, as it just causes confusion.
.
It causes annoyances because they don't like the name. When the airport is renamed Barack Obama National Airport in 20 years, nobody in the area will complain.

As for the Willis tower, they paid for the naming rights. If Sears wants the name back, pay for the rights and it will be Sears once again.
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