PBS Newshour story about airlines shunning small airports...leaving "only" GA

[mikea]

ELIZABETH BRACKETT, NewsHour Correspondent: Bill Foraker offered me a ride in his 50-year-old Piper Comanche to show me why the Terre Haute International Airport is in such trouble.

The empty skies told the story. There were no commercial planes in sight. Despite Terre Haute's three runways -- one of them long enough for any wide-body plane -- only 56 private planes now use the facility.

BILL FORAKER, Piper Comanche Pilot: It's a tremendous facility. We've got nice runways here; we've got a full-time FAA-staffed control tower; we've got radar facility; we've got good tee hangars. It doesn't get any better than this as an airport for general aviation.

ELIZABETH BRACKETT: Does it make any difference to you if there's commercial aviation here?

BILL FORAKER: It does as a citizen, but not as a pilot. As a citizen, I'd really like to have more, you know, commercial activity here. I think it's a good thing for the airport, and it's a good thing for the city.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec08/meanskies_07-03.html

Yay! No GA bashing.

Watch for the funny on Gary. They're still shooing away piston singles to make room for the airliners that aren't there.

 

[bbchien]

St. Louis Tracon actually told me that we no longer had to transit at 16,000 to get direct. There's been a 50% drop in commercial traffic there and they're not shooing us away any more.......

 

[mikea]

St. Louis Tracon actually told me that we no longer had to transit at 16,000 to get direct. There's been a 50% drop in commercial traffic there and they're not shooing us away any more.......

I flew over STL VFR at 9500 on last year's return from Gastons. No. They didn't like it, but they didn't give me vectors on FF either.

 

[ScottM]

I wonder Chi-App would do?

Ok I don't really wonder, I know!!