After 14 years as Bob Hope Airport, the name has changed back to Hollywood Burbank Airport — a name this airport in California has not been officially called since 1978.
Other Airports Should Follow the Lead of This Airport — If Only For One Reason
Originally known as United Airport in 1930 after the airline, the airport has had its name changed to — yes, believe it or not — Hollywood-Burbank Airport in 1967.
A late 1960s view of Hollywood Burbank Airport (then known as Hollywood-Burbank Airport) from Empire Avenue. The '60s marked the first full decade of the "'jet age" in commercial aviation, which began in Britain in 1952 and came to the U.S. some years after. #TBT #avgeek pic.twitter.com/PtUaBNLtsT
— Hollywood Burbank ✈️ (@fly_BUR) December 7, 2017
In 1978, the name changed again to Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport — and despite two more name changes, the entity which oversees the operations of the airport is still to this day known as the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena-Airport Authority.
Those two other name changes were Bob Hope Airport in 2003 — in honor of the late comedian — before reverting back to Hollywood Burbank Airport without the hyphen. Legally, however, the name of the airport remains Bob Hope Airport — but it will no longer be known as that name.
Official Brand Launch of the Hollywood Burbank Airport @fly_BUR pic.twitter.com/ES1SyN2vCv
— Allen D.W. aka Mr. Manager (@iamallendw) December 14, 2017
Why was the name of the airport changed again earlier this year?
“A lot of people east of the Rockies didn’t know where Bob Hope Airport was,” Lucy M. Burghdorf — who is the director of public affairs and communications for the airport — said, according to this article written by Mary Forgione of the Los Angeles Times. “Was it in Palm Springs? Or Vietnam?”
New Terminal
After 87 years, Hollywood Burbank Airport will finally get a new terminal as a result of the approval of Measure B by Burbank voters on Tuesday, November 8, 2016.
The airport “is working with the community and neighboring cities to build a safer, 14-gate replacement terminal that is farther from the runways and meets current earthquake design standards. The replacement terminal will provide the same convenience and easy access that air travelers now enjoy while providing new amenities. It is a $400 million investment in Burbank at no cost to local taxpayers.”
The new terminal is expected to open to the public sometime in the year 2022.
Why Name Airports After People?
As I first did in this article last year, I am going to give you a little quiz — and please do not use any aid or assistance in deriving the answers, as they should be strictly confined to your knowledge and memory.
Please tell me who are the following people and for what they are known:
- Edward O’Hare
- Edward Lawrence Logan
- Henri Coandă
- Ben Elbert Douglas, Sr.
- Donald Sangster
- John Foster Dulles
- Francisco de Sá Carneiro
- Lester B. Pearson
- William R. Hopkins
- William P. Hobby
- Gerald R. Ford
- Jorge Newbery
- Eugene M. Bradley
- Benito Juárez
- Pat McCarran
You probably know who are one of those people listed — perhaps more than one. Chances are, however, that you are not familiar with all of the names on that list other than the fact that international airports are named after them.
Summary
People should not be idolized by naming airports and highways — and erecting monuments and statues — after them, in my opinion. In many cases, doing so creates more problems than solving them.
I have asked this question before — specifically, in this article: what is the point of naming an airport after someone? Why must naming airports be more complicated than necessary? Why not just name it after the destination it serves, as with Hollywood Burbank Airport? That practice would be significantly less expensive, reduce political wrangling, practically eliminate controversial issues — and writing out the full name of the airport would overall be easier:
- Denver International Airport
- San Francisco International Airport
- Miami International Airport
If possible, I would even consider changing the airport codes to reflect going back to basics:
- Chicago International Airport — CIA
- New York International Airport — NYI
- Boston International Airport — BIA
In locations with more than one airport, perhaps differentiate them by either purpose or direction:
- Houston International Airport
- Houston Domestic Airport
- Houston Airport East
These name changes address the issue to which Lucy M. Burghdorf alluded: with the aforementioned name changes, people would know which cities or locations those airports served.
Although I personally did not think that Bob Hope was all that funny, I do respect his work as an actor and as a comedian. To me, he should be remembered through the very media he helped to transform: his movies and television shows — not by the renaming of an airport. He also pioneered entertaining the military — even when times were gloomy.
Similar to Hollywood Burbank Airport, I personally believe that John F. Kennedy International Airport should go by its original name: New York International Airport. The name says it all. It is simple and to the point. That is so much better than its subsequent names, one of which was Idlewild Airport. What is an Idlewild, anyway? Is that what happens when an airplane engine races uncontrollably while the aircraft sits on a tarmac?
Going one step further — in my opinion — all areas served by a single airport should have that airport named after that area — such as Atlanta Airport, Memphis Airport, or Miami Airport. Why use the word international, anyway — other than as a differentiator from another airport within its proximity from which flights do not serve international locations? “Oh, I would much rather use that airport because it has the word international in its name.”
I will be the first to admit that Brian Cohen International Airport does not quite smoothly roll off the tongue; nor does BCIA or Brian Cohen Expressway. I am not sure I want something named after me to be run over by millions of cars per year or have some Boeing 747-800 airplane land on it — and be marked with oil splatters and skid marks — and even though my bodily functions currently operate normally, I really do not want people to say that the Brian Cohen is “backed up” again…
Source: Hollywood Burbank Airport.
