Letter: BUR by any other name is still BUR

Please permit a view from a distance on the issue of renaming Bob Hope Airport. I ask, “Why?”

The name of an airport has nothing to do with marketing. The location does. Many airports were named in honor/memory of individuals who were deemed worthy of being recognized: War hero, military figure, nation’s president, entertainer, and so on.

To illustrate my point, look at these names and locations:

O’Hare — Chicago [ORD]

General Mitchell — Milwaukee [MKE]

Dulles — Washington, DC [IAD]

Reagan — Washington, DC [DCA]

John Wayne — Orange County

Why do passengers fly into any of these airports? Not because of their names. They fly because marketing has attracted them. Find solid reasons to market Bob Hope Airport so travelers will be attracted to using Burbank instead of another location.

My wife and I use BUR because our daughter and family live 10 minutes away from the airport. Ten minutes sure beats the socks off a trip back and forth between LAX even if it means a higher fare and one stop/plane change along the way.

Taking the name Bob Hope Airport off the building and replacing it with another name will do nothing to attract passengers to Burbank. And the IATA airport code won’t change. BUR will still be Burbank.

Art Pahr
Plymouth, Wis.