In real estate, it's location, location, location. In doing something that affects a lot of people, it's coordination, coordination, coordination.
A bit over one year ago, someone started a buzz around Wichita to change the name of the largest airport in the State of Kansas. Eventually, "The Wichita City Council, sitting as the airport authority, voted Tuesday to change the name of Mid-Continent Airport to Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. (April 8, 2014) The Wichita Eagle". Below is the photo that accompanies the newspaper report.
The article continued:
The action Tuesday was largely symbolic, clearing the way for the new name to go to the Federal Aviation Administration for paperwork changes. The name change becomes effective next year when the new airport terminal opens.
The vote also cleans up a city omission from March, inserting the name “Wichita” officially into the new airport name.
Eisenhower, who was from Abilene, served as supreme commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and as United States president from 1953 to 1961.
Opponents of the change reiterated their criticisms Tuesday: the estimated $270,000 cost to the airport and city to change the name and highway signage, the 60 years that have passed since Ike was president.
Former county commissioner Dave Bayouth contended that young people today don’t know who Eisenhower is.
And city clerk Karen Sublett read into the record a statement from the city’s airport advisory board opposing the change. The board met Monday afternoon and voted 10-1 to oppose the name change.
But in the end, Mayor Carl Brewer said, “I could never come up with a reason not. There are more reasons why it’s the right thing to do.”
I changed some of the text to red in the above excerpt: "The name change becomes effective next year when the new airport terminal opens." Therein, lies the rub. No one thought about coordinating the name change with the FAA's schedule for publishing updated charts. Thus, although the signage remains the same (well, it looked just like the above photo when I took Hunky Husband to catch his flight last Sunday morning), the FAA has changed some charts. For instance, if a pilot looks up NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen), this is what greets them:
Data Current as of: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 13:37:00 UTC
The new terminal is scheduled to open in about three months. I'll try to remember to share some photos at that time.
Please note that Pres Eisenhower had no ties to Wichita, other than having lived in the State of Kansas - in Abilene KS - about 120 miles distant from Wichita. The Eisenhower Memorial Highway (AKA Kansas Hiway 15 or K-15) runs through Wichita, leading to Abilene, the site of the Eisenhower Memorial Museum. From our house, driving a total of 1.75 miles west, 0.4 miles north puts us on K-15.
This just seems silly to me. The expense of making the change and to such a long name is a waste. And why put National at the end. Reagan National sort of makes sense since it is DC, but there seems no need here other than to fill pockets for sign makers.
When they changed Sacramento Metro to Sac international it was just as silly. Changing all the signs cost money and they did not even have international flights. They said you could connect to international flights. But you can do that from every puddle jumper airport in the country.
Posted by: Ingineer66 | January 14, 2015 at 12:12 PM
The whole thing was pushed through by people who are still wet behind their ears - to help Wichita "re-brand" itself. OMG. Anyone who thinks that Wichita will ever become a destination city needs corrective surgery - to get their heads out of....I guess that I need to re-brand myself into a touchy-feely person!
; )
Posted by: Cop Car | January 14, 2015 at 12:40 PM
I just hope the airport abbreviation gets changed too.
Wichester Ike National = WIN :-)
Posted by: Ole Phat Stu | January 14, 2015 at 02:08 PM
Oh, super, Stu - that's all they need to do! *laughing* No, the identifiers (ICT, domestically; KICT, internationally) stay the same AFAIK and has been announced. (I trust you got caught by auto-complete, getting from Wichita to Wichester.)
Posted by: Cop Car | January 14, 2015 at 04:17 PM
P.S. When I worked at Tyndall AFB, FL (1981-1983) the local airport was Panama City-Bay County Airport. Its identifier was PFN. PFN had survived from earlier days when the airport had been Fannin Field, named after a mayor of Panama City. I note that PFN has been decommissioned, along with the airport. The area has been served by the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) since 2010.
Posted by: Cop Car | January 15, 2015 at 05:14 AM
Damned auto-complete :-(
Posted by: Ole Phat Stu | January 15, 2015 at 10:04 AM